A Different Path
by Gaurdianangelzelos
Summary: A series of events send Naruto down a different path. A new team, new complications, and a new destiny await him. But will these changes make his own dreams impossible? NarutoHinata, AU Naruto, Naruto Hinata Shikamaru team fic
1. A Different Path

_Hello everyone, and welcome to my main Naruto story! Man, I am so glad that I have finally got this up on this website. I've been planning it for such a long time that it's ridiculous. Okay, first of all, let's discuss the pairing... It's Naru/Hina. In truth, the romance in this fic will be very, VERY low key, so you don't have to worry too much about overly fluffly and corney moments in this fic, despite the look of this first chapter. More pairings will be added later...as in much later. _

_A word of warning for those first visiting my story. You are going to find that there are going to be some things that you may not want to happen or do not agree with. Bad things do happen to good people in this fic at times, but let's face it, that's how life is. So again, this is your warning._

_On a brighter note, this first chapter has NONE of that bad stuff. I have big plans for this fic, so let's finally begin!_

_Edit Note (6/4/09): As a note to everyone, I'm now taking time to do some severe editting of all of my early chapters (mostly from now to chapter ten). Though the plot will remain the same, events and thoughts of specific characters will be explained in greater detail than before. Unfortunately, there is a drawback to this. Since I'm editting from the first chapter on, there may be a drop in quality after a few chapters (not bad mind you, but it's there). I'm hoping to at least get two chapter revisions each week (with luck). Just bear this in mind as you read. Still, I sincerely hope you enjoy this fic just as much as I am enjoying writing it._

* * *

The small boy yawned tiredly, scratching his messy blonde hair, only half awake. Then with a big "Wahoo!" he jumped up from his bed and punched the air enthusiastically. "Good morning, Konohakagure!" he shouted out window that he had never been able to actually fully close, stomping his foot on the wooden floor under his feet. This only caused several shouts and complaints from the other occupants on his floor and below. Not that they needed any provocation in the first place to yell at him anyways.

The boy just shrugged it off and ignored the commotion, completely used to the angry shouts from the residents in the lower apartments. Silently, he leaned his head forward on to the windowsill, gazing out at the coming sun. He had always loved sunrises, ever since he was small…er. It was the only thing that had ever greeted him when he woke up in the morning. Every time he looked out at the shining globe, something in the back of his mind always told him...fooled him into thinking that it was going to be a better day than the last. That it would be a day worth actually living...

"Hey kid!" the voice of the apartment owner yelled at him from outside his door, surprising him out of his brooding. "I'm up to my eyeballs in complaints about you being too loud. Shut up before you put me out of business!"

"I'll yell as much as I want!" the blonde ten year old yelled as loudly as he could back at the closed door, though he made sure that it was locked before doing so. "You should show some respect to the next Hokage in your village. If you keep this up, I'll make _sure_ you go out of business when I'm running this village!"

"Just keep it down, kid," the owner said with a sigh, and the shadow that had appeared from underneath the door disappeared.

Naruto stuck his tongue out toward the door and stomped his foot even louder on the floorboard, causing the uproar from below him to grow even louder. A minute later, he figured he had caused enough pandemonium for the morning and decided against continuing. He didn't want too much trouble when he would eventually go down to the main level of the apartment and leave for school.

With a depressed groan Naruto made his way to the cabinet and fridge to get his cereal and milk out, reluctantly pouring both into the one bowl that he owned. It wasn't like he had anything against cereal or anything. It was just that…something was missing. That one thing that would help him through all of his ninja skills and give him the energy he needed. With a sigh, he continued to pour himself cereal and milk. Before eating any though, Naruto made sure to check the expiration date of the milk this time. He didn't want to go through another day of running to and from the restroom the entire day like he had last month. Besides, if his new teacher was anything like the ones he had already had, he wouldn't be getting any trips in the first place.

After he finished his meal and dressing in his usual white tee shirt with the Fire Country symbol and his black pants, he quietly made his way downstairs. Though he attempted to keep himself quiet and unnoticeable, he found the second he entered the room, it became deathly quite. The boy looked around the room in caution, figuring that each of the residents must be mad about his yelling. He laughed it off and headed toward the door, making sure to not bother anyone and to ignore each of the hateful glares that were being shot at him. When he finally made it to the doorway, he began to believe that he was home free, too bad the fat lady hadn't sung yet.

"Get out of our village you creature!" a woman yelled, throwing the book that was in her hands straight at Naruto's head. Naruto barely dodged the ridiculously large novel and got out of the building as fast as he could before a riot could start. Again...

After running a couple blocks down the street, Naruto let out a sigh of relief that he had gotten out unscathed. With only one last glance back over his shoulder, he began his way to the academy. It wasn't as though he wasn't already used to it anyways. For as long as he could remember everyone had always treated him the same way. He tried to be good, he really did. But that only resulted in empty stares as he passed by, almost as though he didn't even exist. Even vengeful stares were better than those. At least those looks actually acknowledged his existence. And so far there has only been one person that had ever looked at him differently than anyone else…

Five minutes after he first started his trek, he saw another boy walk around the corner a block ahead of him and begin walking the same direction, not noticing Naruto all the while. For a second, Naruto stopped his walking and just watched the other young child walking down the street in front of him. Then, with a mischievous smile, Naruto leaped into the trees and hopped from branch to branch until he was right above the other boy. Naruto chuckled manically as he followed the boy within the safety of the trees, making sure that he wasn't seen or heard. Though there was one moment where the boy under him looked upwards into the branches above him, in the end he only sighed and continued his walk to the academy.

Naruto could barely contain the giddy laughter that was trying to escape from him. There was _no_ way his plan could fail this time. Soon he, Uzumaki Naruto, will be known as the most talented, genius student in the academy. With a deep breath, he jumped out of the trees and fell downward toward his victim.

"I got you now!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, prepared to tackle the unsuspecting child beneath him. But instead of hitting flesh, his face connected with hard cement. "Ow! Holy crap that hurt!" Naruto yelled as he rubbed his right cheek in pain. He then yelped in pain and grabbed his matted blonde hair as a hard punch connected to the top of his head. It didn't actually hurt that much, he just hadn't been expecting it.

"How can you ever expect to surprise someone if you shout out where you are?" the other boy asked as he looked down at Naruto and crossed his arms. "It's no wonder that you're the dead last in the class...Dobe," he said with a sigh.

"Blah, blah, blah! Don't get so cocky, baka," Naruto said as he stood to his feet and pointed at the other boy. "That was a lucky dodge! You know I almost had you this time, Sasuke!"

"Whatever," the raven haired boy replied as he uncrossed his arms and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "So, are you actually going to school today?"

"Of coarse I'm coming!" Naruto yelled enthusiastically. "How else will I become Hokage?"

Sasuke chuckled as he turned back around to continue on his way with Naruto walking beside him. "You still think you have a chance of becoming Hokage? Aren't you the one who is always failing the tests? The one who keeps playing pranks on everyone so they hate your guts? Most of the teachers won't even look at you after the last one you did to the advance class' sensei"

"My pranks are funny Sasuke and you know it. And if I remember correctly, you were the one who distracted the class while I was able to do my prank last week. Not to mention you helped me with one a couple days ago! And one other thing, I only flunk the written tests!" Naruto said, turning his head away from his fellow shinobi in training. "It's not my fault they make the questions so darn hard! What can you do when a bunch of shuriken are coming at you anyways? The best thing you can do is try to get out of the way as fast as you can before they get to you."

"Or you can use the Kawarimi no Jutsu and escape without a scratch on you," Sasuke said with a pitied sigh. "Sheesh Naruto, I really don't know how I can put up with you."

"Because you and I are best friends, Sasuke-kun!" Naruto said as he unexpectedly slung his arm over the Uchiha's shoulder and began marching.

"Get off me, dobe!" the trapped ninja in training yelled, trying to shake himself free, but Naruto had a tight grip on him. If Naruto knew anything about Sasuke, it was that he hated physical contact with anyone.

"I may have not have gotten you the first time, but there's no escaping now!" Naruto laughed as he tightened his arm to keep a hold of Sasuke, savoring his victory. "So, what now Sasuke? There aren't any fan girls here to save you now."

"Naruto!" two voices yelled from behind him. Two fists simultaneously slammed into the poor boy's already bruised head and sent him down to the ground to once again become acquainted to the pavement.

"Ow!" Naruto yelled for the second time in five minutes. "I must have jinxed myself. Okay, which ones hit me this time?" he asked as he looked up. His face slightly paled when he saw the two kunoichi in training leering over him. It was just his luck to get stuck with the arguably two most obsessed Sasuke fans in the ninja academy, Haruno Sakura and Yanamaka Ino.

"What do you think you're doing to my Sasuke-kun?" Ino roared at the helpless ten-year old, which Naruto responded with an angry glare back at her. Naruto had never liked Ino, she was too annoying. Always talking about how beautiful she looked and how Sasuke would be hers one day. Naruto once made a joke about how she probably sniffs the toilet Sasuke goes on and the lump on his head didn't disappear for a month.

"Hey, hey, hey, I'm sorry! I was just messing around, I…" he was cut off again as another fist collided into his head, this time from the other girl.

"If you were sorry you wouldn't have done it in the first place!" Sakura yelled this time, raising her fist threateningly to punch him again.

"Ah, come on Sakura-chan. Why do you have to be so mean? I have no idea why you don't like me. I mean tell me how many times I have asked you out already?" the beaten up ten year old asked. "I even gave you those nice flowers that one day…"

"As far as I care you could give me all the treasures in the village, I'll never go out with _you_," the pink haired girl said turning her head away from him. "You should already know that my heart belongs to Sasuke, he's mine. Isn't that right Sasuke-kun?"

"The next time you call Sasuke 'yours' I'll beat you to a pulp, forehead girl!" Ino yelled. Naruto sighed to himself as he rested his arm on his knee and propped his head up with his fist. This seemed to be the beginning of another one of Sakura and Ino's "Sasuke fights". They had at least four of them each day. Sometimes they became entertaining though. He might as well just sit still and make himself unnoticeable for now. Last thing he wanted was yet another bump on his head.

"How could you ever think Sasuke-kun would ever want to go out with a pig like you?!" Ino's former best friend shouted back. "Your ideal date would probably be going to the local barn to eat some hay!"

"Pigs don't eat hay you idiot!"

"Then they probably eat manure. That must be why they smell so much, just like you!"

"Forehead Girl!"

"Ino Pig!"

"Forehead Girl!"

"Ino Pig!"

"This is hopeless!" Ino huffed. "Sasuke-kun, just tell Sakura already that you like me better and get this over with," Ino said turning to where Sasuke was standing, or rather where Sasuke used to be standing.

"Sasuke!" the two girls exclaimed at the same time as they both looked around for their dear Sasuke.

"I think he took off when Sakura punched me on the head," Naruto said still sitting on the ground. He was slightly disappointed that the fight was over. He had actually been enjoying the spat the two were having. He didn't get why Sasuke never stuck around to find out who the victor would be.

"He must have headed to the academy!" Sakura yelled. "Sasuke-kun! I'm coming!" The two girls then took off with dust trailing behind them, their voices still being heard long after they were out of sight.

"Man, why can't girls be like that around me?" Naruto asked as he stood up. He dusted off his white tee shirt and repositioned his goggles on his forehead before continuing his rant. "Sasuke has all the luck, and what does he do? He walks away! Man if I was Sasuke, I would…"

Naruto stopped his complaining as he turned around to look at the bushes. Looking at them suspiciously, he tiptoed toward them, inspecting them for a moment. After a couple more seconds, he shrugged and turned around to leave, but then jumped back at the bushes to surprise whoever was in them. And Naruto came face to face with…no one. Naruto closed his eyes and scratched the back of his head, thinking for sure that he had heard something. Then, with another shrug, he walked away with his hands folded behind his head.

As soon as he was too far away to notice, a small girl stepped out behind a tree and looked after him. With a blushing face, she gazed after the boy while pushing her two index fingers together. When he finally turned the corner and out of sight, the white eyed girl left her hiding place and began walking toward the ninja academy. When she had seen him ahead of her…she absolutely froze, not able to do anything. Before she knew it, she was once again hidden behind a tree, avoiding him. Still angry at herself, she trudged on toward the academy, her eyes cast downward to the ground.

* * *

"Okay class," said the young man toward the large number of children before him. He wore the signature Chunin vest and a hitae-ate with the sign of fire on it rested on his forehead. His brown hair was tied back and a scar went across his upper nose, far enough to reach past his eyes. Yet the scar could not hinder how kind his eyes were. "My name is Umino Iruka, and I will be teaching you for the remainder of your time here. I hope that we can have a great time together."

A young long black haired boy that Naruto didn't know raised his hand. "What happened to Raiku-sensei?"

"Raiku-san has been promoted to Jonin and will be undergoing tougher missions that only the elite are able to accomplish. We need as many high ranking ninja in our village as we can get, so I'm counting on all of you to become the best ninjas possible," Iruka said with a closed eyes smile and raising his finger.

"Well, you can count on everybody but Naruto," a cocky girl a couple seats away from Naruto said loudly. Naruto began to stand up and charge her but Sasuke, who was sitting beside him, grabbed the furious blonde and yanked him back into his chair.

"Do you really want to get on the new teacher's bad side on the first day? Can't you tell that this may be a new start for you, dobe?" he asked.

Though Naruto hated to admit it, Sasuke was right…as usual. "I'll get her latter," Naruto said threateningly as he sat back down in his seat and crossed his arms in annoyance.

Iruka saw this and looked over at the boy. Just as anyone else over the age of twenty, he immediately recognized the boy by the noticeable whiskers and blonde hair. Uzumaki Naruto. Though he hated to admit it, he could not help but think, "_Kyuubi…_"

"I would rather none of you say too harsh of words to your fellow classmates," the new sensei said, looking at the one girl in particular. "You never know who might become even stronger than you someday, maybe even Hokage."

"I like this guy already," Naruto said smiling. Sasuke just let out a low grunt, though Naruto just took it that he agreed with him.

"Now, I'd like all of you to show me how well you can do the henge no jutsu," Iruka said as a chorus of groans responded back to him. "Come on everybody, line up." Naruto felt some sweat drop down from the back of his head. At the same time, he put his head on the table in front of him and softly hit his head a couple times. Why did the teacher have to test them on their jutsu ability on his first day? And in front of everyone in the class as well!

"Come on," Sasuke said tapping him on the shoulder and walking away.

Naruto sat up with a nervous sigh, then walked down to join the others, but still made sure that he was the last one to do his henge. One by one the students attempted the jutsu, which most of the time were pathetic due to the fact that they were new to the ninja academy, much like Naruto. Most of them were just fatter and uglier images of Iruka, who was the one they were looking at that moment. But each time Iruka would just nod and tell them nice job, and the student would walk back to their seat feeling some sort of accomplishment. When it came to be Sasuke's turn though, he demonstrated just why he was known as the genius of the academy and preformed an impressive henge of the Sanidaime.

"Very nice transformation," Iruka said, obviously impressed by the student's jutsu. "What's your name again?"

"Uchiha Sasuke," the raven haired boy responded as he undid the jutsu and turned his head to look at the new teacher. Back at their seats, a couple girls fainted. Iruka cast a knowing eye toward the boy, and then just nodded and jotted down a few notes on his paper as Sasuke went back to his seat.

Finally, it was Naruto's turn. Iruka continued to jot down a couple more notes, but then noticed that the boy was just standing there in front of him. Naruto had just realized that his plan had backfired. Since he was the last one up, he was now the only one that was still in the front of the classroom, causing all eyes to fall on him. For once, Naruto did not want everyone's attention on him

"Uh, you may start now," Iruka said awkwardly. Naruto could hear the class snickering behind him, which made the small boy even more determined and focused.

"_Alright, what did Sasuke say?_" Naruto thought as he made the necessary hand sign. "_Uh…focus my chakra…concentrate hard…and let it lose!_"

Naruto summoned all the chakra he could to perform the justu and closed his eyes, not wanting to see what he would become. With a loud 'poof' smoke covered Naruto.

Laughter exploded in the room when Naruto opened his eyes. Each of them was laughing so hard that a couple of them had fallen out of their chairs. Ino and Sakura were laughing so hysterically that they were actually helping each other stand up, neither of them realizing what they were doing. Sasuke put his head on the desk and just shook his head miserably. Naruto looked into the window and saw in his reflection, much to his horror, that the only thing that he had changed was his nose, which was four times as long as it once was.

"Well, you had nice effort," Iruka said as Naruto undid the jutsu.

"Naruto, you're such a failure!" someone yelled from behind him, causing more laughter to explode from behind. Naruto looked up at the teacher in shame and turned his back to him to make his back to his seat. What did it matter anyways? It wasn't like he cared what any of them thought. With each step he took he began devising some way that he could get back at each and every one of them.

"Um…uh," a voice said as he continued his way up the stairs.

"Huh?" Naruto asked as and turned to the person who had talked. Sitting there was a girl around his age, pressing her two index fingers together. She wore a white sweater with blue pants, and her hair was dark black. She hid her eyes behind her blue bangs, only occasionally looking up at him. From behind her bangs he could spot some bandages wrapped around her head for some reason or another. But the thing that struck Naruto the most was her eyes, pure white without pupils. He remembered a lesson a while back where the teacher talked the bloodline trait and the family that possessed it. What were their names again? Hiesha? Hohwa? Ah whatever, Naruto finally decided.

"Yeah?" he asked the girl, who turned away and blushed when he spoke to her.

"Um…well. I-I just wanted t-to say…n-nice try," she stuttered as she stared at her desk. Naruto raised his eyebrows at the girl. It was the first time someone had really complemented him for real. He had always been told that he would never amount to anything by the other students and teachers, and Sasuke would just berate him just to get on his nerves. Now, out of nowhere, someone finally congratulated him? And what's more, it was a girl.

"Uh," he laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks."

Naruto was surprised to see the girl's face turn even redder than before, causing Naruto to worry that there was something wrong with her. Was she sick or something?

"Naruto, can you please get back to your seat?" Iruka asked from below. Though he sounded annoyed, the new teacher had just had a very swift and strong realization. It had happend when Naruto had looked up at him after he had failed the jutsu. And what he had seen…shocked him. He had always thought that Naruto was the incarnation of the Kyuubi that destroyed their village, the ravage monster that murdered both of his parents in a single night. While being dragged away from the battle that his parents were involved in, he had stared the fox straight in the its blood red eyes. There was no way that the sad, clear blue eyes of that boy could be the same eyes of the demon that killed so many in their village.

"Uh, sorry Iruka-sensei," Naruto said with a respectful bow, then running back up the stairs and sitting in his seat. For some reason, when he sat back down, he wasn't as conscious of all of the snickers that was around him as he was at the front of the room.

"Who was that girl?" Sasuke asked as Naruto sat down.

"Well," Naruto said scratching his nose. "I don't know!" he said with a goofy smile.

"Dobe," Sasuke said rolling his eyes.

"Okay class, please open your books and turn to page fourty eight, which should deal with the proper way to execute the henge no jutsu…"

* * *

Three hours later, the class left the room in slight exhaustion. Though they were happy with their new teacher, they all had to admit that he worked them much harder than Raiku-sensei. All day Iruka had been testing them on various jutsus and having them fill out multiple worksheets. And the worst part was that it was only lunchtime! Even Sasuke, who usually never showed any emotion at all, looked beat.

"Naruto-kun, can I please talk to you for a moment?" Iruka asked as the boy approached the door. Naruto looked at Iruka for a moment in confusion, then shrugged and walked over to him, leaving Sasuke to go to lunch by himself. After taking a moment to make sure that Iruka wasn't angry at him, he took a seat into the chair that Iruka offered him.

"Uh, I didn't do anything wrong, did I?" Naruto asked nervously as Iruka grabbed another chair and took a seat across from him.

"No, no, nothing like that. I just noticed that you were having a little trouble with the Henge no Jutsu today," Iruka said with a kind smile, leaning back casually in his chair. Naruto rubbed the back of his head, ashamed of himself. "Do you know exactly why you failed at the jutsu?"

"Uh…" Naruto thought. "Is it because I didn't try hard enough?"

Iruka laughed after his response, much to Naruto's surprise. This was usually the point when the teacher would yell at him angrily or throw him out of the room. "No. The reason that it didn't work was that you actually tried too hard," Iruka said, still smiling. Naruto looked at his new teacher in bewilderment. "Here, let me explain. It is common knowledge that all techniques require a certain amount of chakra, right? Well, it is possible to actually use too much chakra while performing a jutsu. If you become a Genin, you will learn how to walk up trees in your later years to learn how to control your chakra in a precise way. If you use too much chakra, you are sent crashing down to the ground, but if you use too little, you slip right off. This type of chakra control is involved and used for all jutsus. It is possible to make a ninjutsu and genjustu stronger by applying more chakra to your attack, but techniques as simple as the Henge no Jutsu will just end in failure, like yours did. No offence by the way."

"So you're saying that I need to work less?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"Not exactly," Iruka replied chuckling and standing up to his feet. "To tell you the truth, Naruto, you have the most chakra out of any of the students in the class." Iruka was pleased to see Naruto's blue eyes suddenly light up in surprise and happiness. "Unfortunately, since you have so much chakra, you often use too much of it. In the end, you usually not only end up with a failed jutsu, but you are extremely exhausted afterwards. If you want, I can help you control your chakra better."

Naruto's face lit up in delightat this proposition. The enthusiastic boy jumped to his feet and yelled, "You got it, Iruka-sensei! Whatever helps me become Hokage!"

Iruka couldn't help but chuckle once again. So this kid wanted to be Hokage? Kind of ironic for the worst student in the school. They were usually the ones who would drop out in the early years of the academy. Of course, was he any different when he was younger? Was that why he felt obligated to help this kid? Did he remind him of himself? Iruka didn't have an answer to that question. Not yet anyways.

"Okay, how about I help you every Monday right after school? I'll even take you out to dinner afterwards," he said holding out his hand to the younger boy.

"Sounds great!" Naruto said, grasping the hand and shaking it, not one to ever deny a free meal. As he began to walk out the door, he suddenly stopped and turned back to his chair and grabbed a book. "Sorry, forgot my textbook," he said running behind Iruka's chair and running out the door.

Iruka once again laughed and shook his head as he put his hands on his hips. The boy will be tough to teach, there was no doubt about that. But who knows what the future might bring. The boy may become a great shinobi yet.

The new sensei sat down, but his eyes snapped wide open as he heard a rather inappropriate sound coming from underneath him. He slowly reached to his behind and pulled out the whoopee cushion from beneath his rear. Iruka looked at the prank item and read, "_If found, please return to Uzumaki Naruto. Address: 93…_

Iruka sighed and bowed his head.

"This is going to be harder than I thought…"

* * *

"What took you so long?" Sasuke asked as Naruto finally exited the academy, though he did notice the bright and happy smile that he had on his face instead of his usual beaten and sad one that he usually wore when he left the teacher's room. "Don't tell me you got detention on the first day our new teacher comes to school."

"Nah!" Naruto said crossing his arms behind his head. "He's just going to give me private lessons on how to control my chakra. Hope your not too jealous Sasuke, I think he likes me the best out of the whole entire class."

"Or your jutsu was so pathetic that he decided to teach you so you would actually have a chance to pass," Sasuke replied. Naruto was about to yell back at the Uchiha when ten girls suddenly spotted them and began running in Sasuke's direction. "Dang it," Sasuke said looking at the mob of fan girls charging toward him. "I'm going to have to beat it until lunch is over."

"Just hide in the boy's bathroom, they wouldn't follow you there," Naruto advised.

"You'd be surprised," Sasuke responded, then sprinted off into the trees, mere seconds before the girls arrived to the spot he had been standing.

"Where'd he go?" the girls asked each other as they approached Naruto.

"Run Sasuke! Run!" Naruto yelled in the opposite direction Sasuke went. Just as he planned, the girls changed directions and ran in the direction Naruto had yelled. The blonde smiled and spat his tongue out at the girls (except for Sakura-chan of course) and walked to a nearby tree to begin his meal.

He opened the lunch box and took out a rice ball, biting into it savagely. This was turning out to be a much better day than he had ever imagined. Though his jutsu had ended up being a complete failure during class, he could not help but feel a rush of excitement when he began thinking about his special lessons that he was going to start with Iruka-sensei. He really liked the new teacher; he was a much more enjoyable replacement than their previous one, who fell in the category of those that had decided to pretend that Naruto didn't even exist. His happiness was only fueled further when he remembered what Iruka said about him having the most chakra out of anyone in the class, even Sasuke. If that wasn't something to be proud of, he didn't know what was.

Once he was done with his first rice ball, he reached into his sack to grab another when his nose suddenly caught a whiff of something in the air...something wonderful. Drool ran down his mouth as he continued to smell the tasty, magnificent aroma. Standing to his feet, he began following his nose toward the source and, after a couple minutes, finally found it. It came from a girl's lunch, some kind of soup by the looks of it. She took her chopsticks and sipped on some noodles, then repeated the process politely.

"Uh, hi," Naruto said stepping out of the trees. The girl jumped so high in surprise that Naruto found it kind of impressive that she didn't spill one drop of her soup.

"H-hello," she said back, slightly hiding her face behind the bowl in her hands. Naruto suddenly realized that it was the same girl who had given him a complement that morning. He moved towards her and sat down, which made her blush and take her eyes off of him, letting them focus instead on a nearby twig. For a moment, the two did not speak, both young children opting instead for silence.

"Uh, I was wondering, what are you eating?" Naruto finally asked as he looked from her and then to the bowl soup in hunger.

"R-ramen," she said shyly, still not making eye contact. She could have kicked herself for sounding so pathetic.

"Um, is it okay if I have a little?" Naruto asked. "I won't eat all of it. It's just...it smells so good. I'll even give you my rice ball.

The girl nodded and handed the bowl and chopsticks to Naruto with shaking hands. He slowly took some of the contents of the bowl in his chopsticks and lifted it up to his mouth. As soon as the hot soup touched his lips, his entire body stiffened in surprise as the hot liquid and noodles slowly made his way down his throat. When he was finally done with his swallow, he reverently put down the ramen bowl. As soon as the bowl was out of his hands, he shot up to his feet and punched the air.

"This stuff is the best thing I've ever tasted in my entire life!" he yelled, pulling the girl to her feet and giving her a hug. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Oh man this is so great! I can't believe I've gone through life without ever eating this! I don't know how I can ever thank you!"

Naruto almost fell over as the girl's weight toppled onto him. Carefully, he set her on the ground and looked at her. Her eyes were completely shut, though her face remained the same crimson hue as it had been when they were been talking. _She must have fainted_, Naruto decided as he checked her pulse. Did he really hug her that hard? He hadn't thought so. Naruto crossed his legs and arms, thinking about how to wake the girl up. It was almost time to get back to class, and he didn't want to just leave her out here all by herself. He snapped his fingers as he looked over and saw a small bottle of water that the girl had with her. Opening the cap, he put some in his hand and splashed a little of it on the girl's face, waking her up instantly.

"Sorry about that," Naruto said smiling as the girl looked around her in confusion. "You passed out for some reason."

For a second, the girl just stared at Naruto in shock, as if she could not believe that he was there. For a second, Naruto wondered if she was one of the girls that didn't like him…she didn't look like it though. She had even given him a complement back in class. Yeah, this girl seemed different. "Uh…y-yeah. I d-didn't m-mean to…" she stammered, looking at him from the corner of her blank white eyes.

"Ah, don't worry about it!" Naruto said with a closed eyes smile. "So, what's your name?" he asked.

"...Hyuuga Hinata," she said crossing her legs and looking down at the ground, though her eyes did occasionally look up at him nervously.

"Nice to meet you Hinata-chan! I'm Uzumaki Naruto," he said kindly. The girl's blush suddenly reddened even more and her head felt light again. She felt as though she was going to faint again. Did he just say her name and attached 'chan' to it? "Like I said, thank you so much for letting me try your ramen!" he continued.

"D-don't worry. It w-was n-nothing," Hinata said stammered with a small smile. "W-would y-you like to have it? I'm not that h-hungry anyways…"

"Wow! Do you really mean it?!" he asked, almost as if he had jumped from academy student to Hokage in the matter of three seconds. "Thanks so much. You're a really nice girl! I like you!" The boy never saw the girl teeter to the side and almost faint again as he gulped down the entire meal in three seconds.

"You know," Naruto said looking around after he was done with the soup. "It seems pretty lonely over here. Are you always over here all by yourself?"

"I-It doesn't bother m-me that much," Hinata said, blushing that the boy seemed to be so concerned with her.

"Well that doesn't seem like any fun. Hey! I've got an idea. As thanks for letting me try your ramen, how about you and me become friends?" Naruto asked leaning forward. Hinata looked at him in surprise and backed her head away as Naruto's face came closer to hers. "I mean, there's no one here. Do you even have any friends?"

"Um…well, n-not really."

"Then it's settled! You can eat with me and Sasuke," he said standing to his feet. When Hinata also stood up, he looked at her suspiciously. "One thing though, you're not 'in love' with Sasuke too, are you?"

Once again Hinata's face turned red for what felt like the twentieth time that day. "N-no. Actually, I have k-kind of like…"

"Great!" Naruto said interrupting her. "Then you can sit with us. I'm sure Sasuke won't mind. And if he doesn't like you right away, don't take it personally. I don't even think he likes me. Of course he's just like that because he's jealous of my awesome ninja skills and…"

During Naruto's rambling, Hinata was totally stunned by what had just happened. Had she just made…a friend? Not only that, but she had just become friends with _Naruto_? She didn't think she would ever get a friend in her life, being cursed by her extreme shyness. Not only that, but if Sasuke would accept her too, she would even have _two_ friends. She blushed and looked to the ground which Naruto saw.

"Hey, you alright?"

"Um…well," Hinata said blushing. "It's just, are you sure that I would be welcome in your group."

"Oh yeah, you'll fit right in! And I wouldn't really call two people a group, but maybe with three we can!" Naruto said giving her a fox like smile. "Just don't worry about it. I'm asking you to be my friend! Do you really think that I really don't want you to after I asked? Uh, you don't mind if I want to be your friend, do you?" he asked, suddenly feeling stupid.

"Of course not!" Hinata said as quickly as she could, hoping that she hadn't blown her chance to get to know Naruto. "I mean…I would really like…to be your friend…"

"Great!" he said. "I'll show you where we sit tomorrow, don't worry. You'll have a blast! Maybe we can have a name for our gang or something. Like 'Naruto and Friends', or maybe 'The Future of Konoha' or..."

The bell from the academy rang, making both young ninjas in training looked in the direction simultaneously.

"Hey, you want to race back to class?" Naruto asked with bright eyes.

Hinata looked at him in surprise, though her white eyes showed how happy she was. "Well, I haven't really raced anybody before," she said, trying her best to not stutter again.

"Ah, it's easy. You just try and beat the person you're running against," Naruto said. "Here, on three," he said getting beside Hinata.

The Hyuuga looked at Naruto with a blush, not truly believing that she had actually become friends with the person she had a crush on for too long to remember. She suddenly wondered if he would like her more if she beat him, or maybe he would be mad.

"Um, N-Naruto-k…kun?" she said.

"Huh?" he asked, looking at her in confusion.

"C-can we just walk back together?"

Naruto looked a little disappointed at first, but then just shrugged.

"Alright, we can do that I guess. It's not everyday I get a new friend," he said. Together, they walked back to the ninja academy, with Hinata secretly smiling and looking at Naruto the whole entire time.

* * *

_And there you have it, the first chapter. This was more of a set up chapter but we'll get into some action soon. **IMPORTANT TO READ**: If none of you have noticed yet, the bandages on Hinata's forehead was because that in my fic, I've placed her into the branch family. Basically, her and Neji's places have been exchanged. So Neji is now the heir to the Hyuuga clan and not Hinata. We'll get into more of that some other time. Thanks for reading and a review would be great as well. Well once again, thank you for reading._

_GAZ_


	2. Team Seven is Formed! Team Loser!

_Hello once again loyal readers. Well, here's my next chapter to my big Naruto fic. Just so you know, there will be only one more filler chapter before the action gets going. Please review, I love comments to my chapter no matter what they say. Well, on to the story. And for all of those people that think that Naruto's team will be Hinata and SASUKE...well..._

_NOTE: If you do not like characters that are slightly OOC from the original cannon, this is your warning. As I put in last chapter, Naruto and Sasuke are childhood friends in this fic. As such, Sasuke is not as much of an asstard that he is in the original manga. If you are one who actually likes Ass-Hole-Sasuke, I suggest finding a different fic. Let it be known that he is definitely not a ray of sunshine here, but there is a difference. You have been warned._

_Don't own Naruto..._

* * *

"So then, I came to Iruka-sensei's rescue and kicked that pathetic Mizuki-teme's ass!" Naruto said as he walked down the sidewalk toward the ninja academy with Hinata and Sasuke, punching the air enthusiastically. Hinata gasped and nodded on cue, listening on held breath at Naruto's story. Even after the fifth time of hearing the story, Hinata still found it incredible.

What she was not told by Naruto though was what exactly he had found out the previous night about himself, the exact reason why he was hated by half of the village and ignored by the other half. He had the Kyuubi sealed inside of him, the great demon that had wiped out so many of Konoha's greatest shinobi, not to mention the current Hokage at that time, the Yondaime. At first, Naruto had been furious, distraught, and most of all confused. It was only until Iruka-sensei had stuck up for him in the face of death that Naruto knew exactly where his loyalties lie. Screw Mizuki. Screw the people who hated him so much. He would show them. His goal had not changed. He would continue on his goal of becoming Hokage someday, and they will then see what he truly is, a shinobi of Konoha who would die to keep each and every one of them safe. Then, someday after that, he would tell the entire village of what lay inside of him. But not now. For now, he would keep that information tucked deep inside, just like the demon that was sealed within him. He did not want to risk his friendships with his two best friends, Hinata and Sasuke.

Beside him, Sasuke let out a loud snort as he walked beside his two friends. Though he was trying very hard to not let it show, Sasuke was also listening intently to Naruto's story. Some kid who wasn't even a Genin yet actually beat a Chunin, and one that had been able to defeat Iruka-sensei at that. Not to mention Naruto could now pull off a Jonin ranked jutsu, and pretty damn well if he wasn't exaggerating. Sasuke also knew how effective the jutsu was, since he had learned first hand that very morning. Naruto had used it on him to finally catch him with his usual tree jumping scheme. Imagine his surprise when the first Naruto he dodged suddenly exploded, only to have five more suddenly rain down on him from above.

"You shouldn't really be that proud of just one technique," Sasuke said looking up at the sky to make him appear as if he did not care what Naruto was saying. "Just because you beat one Chunin, doesn't mean you'd be able to defeat everybody in the village."

"You're just jealous of my kick-ass technique!" Naruto said laughing as they neared the academy doors. "Your pathetic fire jutsus can't attack from one hundred different angles at once, can they?"

"But I could burn you to a crisp right now," Sasuke growled threateningly back.

"Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun, we should be happy for each other," Hinata said, trying to stop the fight before it started. Hinata had only barely passed the exam herself. She had been able to only create three bushins during the test, not to mention that one of them looked relatively poor. In her opinion, it was mere favoritism that got her by with Iruka-sensei, who liked the girl for accepting Naruto as he was. She wore her hitae-ate in a similar way Naruto did around her forehead, though her bangs partially covered the fire symbol on the metal. She had been so happy when she had received it. The headband was much more favorable to her to cover the seal on her forehead than her bandages. She had already noticed that less people were now staring at her than they once had.

"Well, look who's finally gotten his butt in gear and become a ninja," a voice suddenly addressed the three as they approached the academy. All three of the ninja looked over and saw both Shikamaru and Choji walking toward them, with Choji munching on a bag of potato chips as usual. Choji had decided to get the bandana style hitae-ate, which seemed to suit well with his oddly shaped hair. Shikamaru, on the other hand, seemed to have just decided to attach it to his jacket's sleeve, an unusual place to put a hitae-ate no doubt since one of its main purposes in the first place was to defend against dull kunai and other weapons. Naruto guessed that Shikamaru had just decided that it was too troublesome to tie it around his forehead every day and instead opted to put it somewhere that it would never need to be removed.

"I mean it Naruto," Nara Shikamaru said in usual lazy tone, though it did seem to have a bit of friendly mockery in it as well. "Just like always, you show up right at the last minute and barely pass. You're so pathetic."

"Look who's talking Shika," Naruto said chuckling back. "You're the one who is always asleep during tests. You're almost the worst student in the entire academy."

"Hmm. Well, whatever. Test's are too troublesome," Shikamaru shrugged sluggishly.

Naruto and Shikamaru had never officially become friends while in the academy, but the Nara had gotten Naruto out of some sticky situations on more than one occasion. Shikamaru had actually been the one who took time to teach him a thing or two just so he 'wasn't so pathetic' when Sasuke was too busy either training by himself or running away from fan girls. There was another time where Naruto had been pulling his classic prank of putting crazy faces on a Hokage painting that was on a street wall. Shikamaru happened to pass by while Naruto was carrying out the prank and had stopped to watch. When the blonde had split after some ANBU agents came around, Shikamaru said that he had been too lazy to see which way Naruto had ran off to, distracting the shinobis just long enough for Naruto to escape. Sure, Naruto had pulled a couple pranks on Shikamaru and even said a couple of rude comments about him from time to time, but he really did respect him, being one of the only kids in the academy to look at him normally. Whether it was because he was too lazy to not like him or because he didn't listen to all of the other adults in the village, Naruto didn't know.

Choji had been another one of the few that had been nicer to Naruto during his times at the academy. The two have had more than just a couple of very pleasant conversations with each other about what type of ramen was best. Choji also never hesitated to trade food with Naruto. All of the other students would not go near Naruto's lunchbox, thinking that it was somehow contaminated with 'Naruto Disease'. Naruto had also heard around the school about how Choji was exceedingly appreciative at how the blonde had never called him names because of his size. Both he and Shikamaru were good people, Naruto had to admit, if not a little strange. If he had hung out with the two of them a little more, they might have even become close friends.

"So how about you, Choji-san?" Naruto asked the "chubby" ninja. "I see you've passed the test too, huh?" he said pointing at the hat that was on the Akamichi's head.

"A couple of bushins are no problem," Choji said puffing up his chest proudly after he was done swallowing his last mouthful of potato chips. "I'm pretty surprised that you actually have so much trouble at it. If it was probably any other kind of jutsu you probably would have done fine."

"This is Naruto you're talking about," Sasuke said with a smirk. "Everything to him is about ten times easier for the rest of us, even the simplest of jutsu."

"Shut it, Sasuke! Well," Naruto said with a laugh, turning back to Choji, "let's just say that I won't be failing any bushin tests for a little while. And I definitely won't be doing any written tests for a longer time."

"You all also won't be getting into your squads if you don't hurry up," a voice said from behind Shikamaru and Choji. Though he made a strong effort to hide it, Naruto could tell that his sensei was not at his best. He could tell that he was putting most of his weight on his right leg, since his left one had sustained a lot of damage from Mizuki's cheap sneak attack. He also wondered just how many bandages he was wearing underneath his attire. Still, he wore one of the biggest smiles Naruto had ever seen him wear. "Now what kind of teacher would I be if my new Genin students skipped team assignment?" Iruka asked, beaming even more.

"Ah don't worry Iruka-sensei," Naruto loudly, waving his hand in his direction. Before last night, he had thought he and Iruka had been close. Now, he couldn't think of anyone else that he looked up to more. It almost made him sad that he was finally leaving the academy. Still, he couldn't let him know that. It would be impossible to give him a hard time then. "We'll be coming in about five minutes, so don't get your panties in a knot."

Iruka slightly winced at the boy's remark. If it had been any other kid, he probably would have punished him for being so rude. But everybody knew that Iruka had a soft spot for the boy, which had actually brought down his reputation as a ninja a little more than desirable. But if believing in his student was wrong, well then what was right? Not to mention that the fact that the boy had saved his life the previous night only put him in even higher regards to the Chunin.

"Uh…Naruto-kun. Team selections begin in about five minutes," Hinata said next to the blonde boy.

"What?! What are we waiting around here then? Let's get going!" Naruto said, running into the academy and momentarily skidding on the wooden floor while turning a quick corner.

"I wonder if he realizes that the teams can't be announced until Iruka-sensei has gotten back to the room," Sasuke asked Hinata, which brought a giggle from the Hyuuga. Iruka smiled at the two. During his two years teaching at the academy, he was shocked to see how the three most outcast children in the whole school had joined forces and opened up with each other. Sasuke did not seem nearly as stoic as rumors had it, and Hinata's attitude had nearly made a complete one-eighty during her friendship with Sasuke and Naruto. Each of them had benefited in their own specific and unique way, which warmed Iruka's heart.

With a sigh, Sasuke gave a respectful nod to Iruka and walked into the academy doors with Hinata following close behind, leaving Iruka alone with Choji and Shikamaru.

"Is there a time when that kid isn't completely hyper? I feel sorry for the two that get stuck on his team," Shikamaru said sighing. Iruka laughed next to him, making Shikamaru to look at his sensei suspiciously. He didn't like that laugh. "What exactly did I say that was so funny, Iruka-sensei?" the overly lazy ninja asked, making sure not to sound too rude.

"Nothing Shikamaru-kun," Iruka said. "How about we just get going? Hinata was right, class is about to begin."

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Shikamaru said as he followed his sensei.

* * *

"Okay everybody, now that you've all become full fledged Genin, you're ready to be put into your teams," Iruka said from down below. "The teams will be in three man squads and each of them will be a balance of speed, power, and knowledge. Each team is also more specially suited to each mission, such as survival, tracking, and combat. If you stay true to your dedicated specialty, then great. But if you instead decide to go down a different path, you might find challenges and tougher missions. In the end though, it is all up to you, your team, and fate as well."

"Man, why can't he just skip the introductions and just tell us who's going to be on our teams already?" Naruto asked as he let out a loud yawn. "Iruka-sensei can be so boring some times. By the time he gets to my team, I'll be asleep."

"Maybe we'll all be on the same team," Hinata said hopefully to Sasuke and Naruto to her right. Though she had not told either of them, the thought of her being separated from the only two that had ever accepted her for the way she was sent a wave of cold fear through her. Not to mention that most squads consisted of two male shinobi and one kunoichi. What if Naruto was paired with another girl that he would fall for, like Sakura? Although his feelings for her seemed to have died down quite a bit compared to how he was two years ago, she still felt slightly intimidated by Naruto's past feelings for her.

"Out of all the new Genin that graduated from the academy this year? That's very unlikely," Sasuke said, giving Hinata even less hope than she already had.

"Do you always have to be so pessimistic? You should be more like me, Sasuke," Naruto said with his head still on the table. Sasuke's only response was a swift punch to the back of his best friend's head, causing the blonde to curse loudly and glare over at the Uchiha.

"Now Team One will consist of…"

"It's about time. And lets get to my team already, its not like I care where everyone else is," Naruto said, although a little too loudly since many eyes around him glared at the boy savagely.

Team after team was named off, and just as he had said, Naruto began to feel his senses fading and his eyes becoming more unwilling to stay open. He was actually half tempted toward the idea of going to sleep and just ask Hinata who was on his team when he woke up.

"Now for Team Seven, Uzumaki Naruto…"

Naruto sat up so fast that he hurt his back in the process, causing him to yelp in pain.

"Will you shut up?!" Sasuke yelled/whispered at him while knocking him on the backside of his head again, knocking Naruto back to the ground.

"Ah! Sasuke! Dammit that hurt!" Naruto said rubbing both his back and rear end at the same time.

"Naruto, if you're done goofing off I'll tell you who your teammates are," Iruka said with a sigh, though his voice showed a hint of amusement in it as well that he couldn't seem to hide.

"Uh, sure Iruka-sensei, go ahead," Naruto said lifting himself back up into his chair and sending another angry stare in Sasuke's direction.

"As I was saying before, Team Seven...Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata…"

"Hey, did you hear that Hinata?! We're on the same team!" Naruto said turning to the shy ninja. "Pretty lucky, huh?"

"Yes, I-I think you're right," Hinata said smiling and turning her eyes away from him in embarrassment. Although she didn't show any signs of it, the young girl was actually somewhere between the point of jumping up and down repeatedly in joy or just falling to the ground in a dead faint in pure happiness. She couldn't describe how happy she was that Naruto was actually on her team. She wasn't going to be separated from him after all. Maybe now she could actually bring up the courage to…

"…and Nara Shikamaru," Iruka finished.

Both Hinata and Naruto looked to the back row at their new teammate and saw him groan in frustration, clearly seen saying, "How troublesome."

"I feel sorry for you Shikamaru," Ino said beside him, shrugging her shoulders and turning her head. "No one, besides Hinata and Sasuke-kun of course, can stand Naruto. Heck, I doubt I would even be able to take it with all of his pranks and complaining all the time. Not only that, but you have Hinata on your team, the worst kunoichi in class. You're team has Naruto, the near worst ninja in the academy, Hinata, the shy Hyuuga that doesn't even trust her own abilities, and you, who doesn't even stay awake throughout the entire class. Team Seven? You guys should more likely be called Team Loser."

"You know Ino, you're one of the reasons that I find women are so annoying," Shikamaru said giving Ino the cold shoulder, only causing her to get even angrier at her "friend". She was about to shout back at the boy, but stopped when Iruka continued onto the next team.

"Team Eight," Iruka continued, though his tone seemed to be a little more bitter than it had been just a moment ago, "Uchiha Sasuke, Aburame Shino, and Yanamaka Ino."

"What?!" Sakura yelled in absolute horror.

"Oh, hell yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about!" Ino yelled jumping to her feet and raising a fist in the air in victory. She looked around joyfully at the many girls looking at her jealously, just longing to be her, Sasuke's teammate. Especially Sakura. The pink haired girl's eyes seemed to be bugging out of her head from pure hatred at Ino.

"What's wrong forehead girl?" Ino asked pointing down at her former best friend. "'True love always wins', isn't that what you always say?"

"Ino, please sit down in your seat," Iruka said sighing. _Girls and team assignments, nothing is more frustrating…or frightening._ Ino sat down joyously, already plotting to make Sasuke hers.

Actually, if Iruka had it his way, Sasuke would have been on Naruto and Hinata's team. Unfortunately for him though, the other proctors that year had decided to play favorites, putting the best fighter, the best strategist, and the best kunoichi based off of overall scores together in on the same team. Iruka was immediately against it, saying that it disrupted the 'balancing' process and how that the three of them had absolutely nothing at all in common. In the end though, he had been overruled by a vast majority of the other teachers. Reluctantly, he had decided to say no more about the subject. That still didn't mean that he wasn't mad as hell though.

"Sheesh, Sasuke," Naruto said as he watched Ino from his seat, who was still doing her victory dance despite Iruka's orders. "I sure feel sorry for you being on the same team as her. She was hard to avoid when you two just had the same class together. How are you going to pull it off now that you're both on the same team?" Though he would never allow himself to say the words out loud, a part of him was very disappointed that Sasuke wouldn't be on his team. Though he wouldn't go so far as to call them inseparable, he had been his primary friend all through his years at the academy. Though they definitely had a rocky start, it wasn't long until they became friends. It wasn't like he had anything against Shikamaru or anything…it just would have been nice to have his other best friend on his team also.

"I'll find a way to deal with her, though she's probably going to follow me all over the place now. I'm not going to waste my time with someone like her. She doesn't deserve my recognition, nor anyone else's for that matter," Sasuke said closing his eyes in his usual cool manner, causing some surrounding girls to look at him longingly, though they hadn't heard what cruel things he had just said.

"Well, I hear Shino is kind of nice," Hinata said. "Maybe you two will become friends."

"What do you mean he's a nice guy? No one knows anything about the guy, plus you…know the rumors," Naruto said as he looked down at the front row where perhaps the most mysterious student in the whole academy sat. No one sat around him, and if anyone had the misfortune to sit beside him, they would be fidgety all class long. He scared most of the other kids due to his lack of any emotions whatsoever, even by Sasuke's standards. The rumors that Naruto had mentioned said that he was cruel and unmerciful, and that if you said something that he didn't like about him, he would kill you without a second thought. No one exactly knew where these rumors had originated from, but no one dared to go near the Aburame, just for caution's sake.

"He won't be any threat to me," Sasuke said calmly.

"Uh-huh, whatever," Naruto replied skeptically.

"Team Ten, Inuzuka Kiba, Haruno Sakura, and Akamichi Choji," Iruka continued to the next team.

Sakura gripped her pink hair in dismay, realizing that this was quickly becoming the worst day of her entire life. "Uhh, not only am I with that psycho Kiba, but I'm stuck with food boy too?" she asked. This couldn't get any worse. She was stuck with the second loudest kid in the academy, the most out of shape kid in the academy, and _Ino_ got to be on Sasuke's team! Why didn't they just throw her out of her house and tell her to sleep in the sewer while they were add it?

Inner Sakura was going rampage deep within Sakura's conscious. **"If anyone should be on Sasuke-kun's team it should be me, not Ino! I would even be on Naruto's team as long as Sasuke was with me too! Arg…I'll kill Ino Pig!"**

"And there are the teams," Iruka said to the class, looking up at the students, though he still looked slightly bitter about the whole situation. "After lunch, you will all meet with your Jonin sensei, but until then class is dismissed. You should probably use the time to get to know your teammates. You'll be working with them for a long time...whether you like it or not," he added with a small laugh, almost feeling as though he was saying this more to himself than the new shinobis in front of him.

* * *

"Uh, Nara-san?" Hinata asked. She had found her new teammate after a lot of searching on one of the balconies the academy had. The lazy ninja seemed to be staring up at the sky for no apparent reason at all. When he turned to her, his eyes didn't shift from their usual lazy manner. Now that Hinata really thought about it, she rarely ever did see Shikamaru smile or laugh that often. He was usually deep in thought about some unknown subject or asleep.

"You know Hinata, we're on the same team now. You don't have to call me 'Nara-san'," Shikamaru muttered before looking back up to the sky above him.

"Oh!" Hinata said bowing in apology, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I'm sorry to offend you Nar…Shikamaru-san." Shikamaru sighed in defeat when he heard the honorific. He guessed that she would become used to him in due time. She didn't seem to be the one to open up quickly to new people anyways. "Um…" Hinata said a little nervously as she took a seat next to Shikamaru on the concrete floor, "Naruto and I wanted to know if you would like to sit with us now during lunch. It's just, like you said, we all are on the same team now so…"

"If Naruto thinks that, then why isn't he with you then?" Shikamaru asked, looking over at Hinata from the corner of his eyes.

"He said he had to do something," she explained, but immediately after she said it, a loud poof exploded from the balcony railing and Naruto stood there laughing.

"Hey guys! Did I scare you?" he asked with a bright smile spread across his face.

"You were hiding in that tree over there and waiting for Hinata to come to surprise us," Shikamaru deadpanned, pointing off to the right. "If that was your best shot at concealing yourself, you won't be lasting long out there on missions."

"Sheesh, don't need to get me all gloomy and all," Naruto said rubbing the back of his head.

"Don't take it too personally. I'm just a straight forward kind of guy. Thankfully, we won't have to worry too much about those kinds of missions for a long time. I'm not complaining, that's for sure," Shikamaru said, not taking his eyes off of the sky above him.

An awkward silence fell on the three, all of them staring off in a different direction. After a moment, Naruto and Hinata glanced at each other, both wondering what they could say to get their new teammate to open up more. Once again, Naruto couldn't help but wish that Sasuke had been placed on their team. It would have made everything so much easier. Looking back to Shikamaru, Naruto followed his gaze and turned his head upward, trying to find what his new teammate found so fascinating. After about two minutes of silence, he finally became uneasy enough to speak.

"Uh, what are you looking at?"

"Clouds."

"Clouds?" Naruto asked dumbly.

"It relaxes me," Shikamaru said with a sigh. "It's too troublesome to explain it all to you."

"You say that everything is 'troublesome'," Naruto said finally sitting down onto the floor with him. Shikamaru seemed like he was about to retort, but then thought about it for a moment and realized his new teammate was probably right anyways. With a shrug, he turned his eyes back to the clouds. "So, did you happen to hear who this Jonin is that we're stuck with? I was too busy talking to Hinata and Sasuke to hear," Naruto asked Shikamaru and Hinata, taking another stab at conversation.

"Iruka-sensei said that his name is Hatake Kakashi," Hinata said. "That's really the only thing he told us. I wonder if he's really good. I've never heard the main house members talking about a Kakashi…"

"I've heard some stuff about him, though not that much, I've heard my dad talk about him a couple times," Shikamaru said taking his eyes away from the sky and sitting up to face the two beside him. "He says that he's one of the most skilled Jonin in the entire village. Rumors have it that he's even mastered a thousand jutsus and is a high class enemy ninja in unfriendly countries. If he's ever actually had a team before I've never heard of them. I've never even heard much about Kakashi being an instructor from Chunins and Jonins."

"Well, maybe if he's new, he'll go easy on us," Naruto said chuckling. "Man this is going to be a piece of cake!"

* * *

An hour later, Hinata, Naruto, and Shikamaru sat quietly inside of the classroom alone. Their team was the only one left to have not met their sensei, the last one had arrived about fifteen minutes ago and Iruka had said that he had other things to take care of and needed to leave. Hinata was sleepily sitting in a desk and drawing pictures with her finger from the dust on the desk while Naruto was looking outside the door to try and find their sensei. Shikamaru meanwhile was sitting by Hinata with his head down on the desk as well, trying to get some sleep.

"Ah, man! Where is he?!" Naruto yelled slamming the door as his frustration finally took over.

"For all I care he can take his time," Shikamaru said with a yawn. "More nap time for me. Just relax, he'll get here eventually."

Shikamaru opened his eyes though when he heard a seat beside him being picked up and carried away. He quietly watched Naruto step on top of the chair and put one of the erasers from the chalkboard between the door and the wall, barely holding it up. If the door was moved a fraction of an inch, it would fall to the ground.

"What are you doing?" Shikamaru asked as he sat up in his seat.

"Setting a trap!" Naruto said still smiling and jumping down from the chair, admiring the childish prank as if it were a piece of artwork.

"Naruto, don't you think we'll get in trouble for that?" Hinata asked, looking once from the eraser above the door and back to Naruto.

"Relax," Shikamaru said putting his head back onto the table and closing his eyes. "If anyone actually gets in trouble, it would be him, not us. Besides, it's not like a Jonin would fall for something so foolish anyways."

"Don't worry, Hinata," Naruto said, ignoring Shikamaru's last comment. "I wouldn't have ever done that if our sensei would have just showed up on time, right? That's what he gets for being late. Maybe it will teach him to be on time for important stuff like this."

"Uh, if you say so," Hinata said, though while she was still in mid sentence, the door began to creak open. All three Genin looked over and watched in what looked like slow motion the eraser fall from its resting spot and down right on the Jonin's…head. An awkward silence followed with not one sound. The silver haired man looked at each of them with his single visible lazy eye. Then, of course, Naruto broke the silence.

"I got you!" he laughed so loudly that Shikamaru covered his ears in annoyance. "I bet you're going to think twice about being late again, huh?! Oh that was great!"

Shikamaru, though still temporarily deaf from Naruto's shouting, was thinking quite differently. "_This is supposed to be a Jonin?_" he thought to himself as he looked at the man from the corner of his eye. "_How could an elite ninja fall for such a stupid trick?_" Were all those things he heard about this guy from his dad nothing but stupid rumors?

The man wore the traditional ninja vest that ninja received when they became Chunin with a blue shirt that stretched all the way up to his face, which covered his nose down, masking his identity. Not that he couldn't be spotted from a mile away with his silver hair stuck out at an angle. His Konoha hitae-ate went over his left eye, completely concealing it for who knew what. Taking a brief moment to survey the three in front of him, he brought his hand up to his chin and closed his single visible eye.

"Hmm…" he said lazily. "My first impression about this team…" All three genin looked at him, wondering what he might say after what had just happened. "You're all morons."

Naruto, Shikamaru, and Hinata all looked at him in small disappointment with sweat drops appearing on the back of each of their heads. Wasn't their sensei supposed to be a little more supportive toward them?

"Alright, let's go," the Jonin said, spinning on his heel and walking out the door, motioning for them to follow.

"Where's he going?" Naruto asked as he stepped out and watched the odd looking man walk down the hallway.

"Do you really think we're going to be training in this messy old room?" Shikamaru asked. "Just come on. For some reason, I don't think he's going to wait up for us," he said standing up and walking out the door with his two new teammates following close behind.

* * *

"Well then," the white haired ninja said sitting down on the railing on top of the school with Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru sitting in front of him on the ground. "Why don't each of you tell us some things about yourselves so that we can get to know each other better?" Naruto found him slightly hard to take seriously. He didn't even make an effort to sound interested of what they had to say in the first place.

"Um, stuff about ourselves?" Hinata asked. "What do you mean?"

"Talk about anything you want. Things you like, things you hate," the man said shrugging a little. "You could also talk about your hobbies or plans for the future. Things along those lines."

"Well, why don't you show us first," Naruto suggested, leaning forward on his step. "I mean, we hardly even know who you are."

"Me?" the man said pointing at himself. "Well that's easy. My name is Hatake Kakashi. What do I like and not like…?" He paused for a moment, while the former academy students waited patiently for him to speak. "Actually, I don't really feel like telling you." All three of Kakashi's student's mouths dropped open slightly, some more than others in Naruto's case. "My plans for the future…hmm…I guess I don't really know. And my hobbies...? I guess that I have lots of hobbies."

"So all we pretty much know is his stinkin' name," Shikamaru whispered over to Hinata and Naruto.

"And we already knew that anyway," Naruto added in with a sigh.

Ignoring the fact that they were having themselves a conversation, Kakashi went on. "So, what about you?" he asked pointing at Naruto.

"Who?" Naruto asked. "Me?"

Quick as a shushin, this one was. "Yes, why don't you go first?"

Naruto straightened his hitae-ate for a second in thought then leaned forward. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto!" he said beaming. "I love ramen, but I hate the three minutes that you have to cook it. My hobbies are going to Ichiraku Ramen with Iruka-sensei and testing out different kinds of ramen. I also like hanging out with my friends Hinata and Sasuke. And my greatest dream…" he said pausing, trying to build up tension (which worked rather poorly as Kakashi seemed more bored than anything else), "is to be the greatest Hokage ever!"

"_Hmm…who would have thought? Well I guess I shouldn't be surprised…_" Kakashi thought as he surveyed the blonde. "Alright, next?" he said looking at Hinata who sat in the middle between Naruto and Shikamaru.

"I'm Hyuuga Hinata," she said bowing her head in respect toward Kakashi. "What I like is…" Her face became a deep shade of red and her eyes began to dart over to Naruto every now and again, but she decided to skip over that question for now. "What I hate are people that claim that I am weak!" she said determinedly, surprising Kakashi since only a second ago she had seemed to be such a timid girl.

"_A Hyuuga that is shy and unsure of herself, huh? Now that's a little rare_," Kakashi thought, thinking of the Hyuuga on his "rival's" squad who had some problems with…well emotions in general.

"I hate them for thinking that I don't matter just because I'm in the branch house of the Hyuuga clan. My hobby is training to make myself stronger. And being with my friends Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun," she said looking over at her friend. Naruto showed his trademark fox smile which she returned, with a hint of a blush also. "My dream for the future is to be a great ninja."

"I'm Nara Shikamaru," the last one spoke, not bothering to have Kakashi even ask him to speak. "I like being lazy and clouds. I hate doing anything that doesn't involve lying around. My hobbies are lying on the grass and watching clouds. My plans for the future are to have an average life as a passable ninja, marry a wife that isn't too ugly and not too pretty, and then retire to live the rest of my life with a wife and a couple kids and then die before they do." Kakashi didn't know whether he should be stunned silent of laugh at the comment. This kid wanted to be a ninja? Now that he thought about it, the Nara clan did consist of pretty drab men. If he remembered correctly, they also have a very peculiar taste in women as well.

"Wow Shikamaru, you sure are chipper today," Naruto said sarcastically, but then turned back to Kakashi. "So now that we're ninjas, we'll be going out on dangerous missions and all, right?"

"Actually, the missions you'll be as Genin will be more along the lines of picking up trash and babysitting," Kakashi said while cleaning out his ear with his pinky. "I'm around to make sure you don't do anything wrong."

"What?!" Naruto shouted in total disappointment.

"Relax. We won't be doing any of those missions today. And tomorrow we'll just be doing some…training," their new Jonin teacher said mysteriously.

"Training?" Hinata asked. "What kind of training?"

"One that we'll all do together, survival training," he said in a harsh voice with a hint of amusement, making the Genin sitting shift uncomfortably.

"Um, what do you mean survival training, Sensei?" Hinata asked. Kakashi seemed to find this a little funny, since he suddenly went into a chuckling fit. This only gave the Genin an even greater feeling of foreboding.

"You'll just have to see tomorrow," Kakashi said with a smile from beneath his mask. "Just be sure to be ready for anything, since this test determines if you become Genin or not."

"...What are you talking about?" Naruto asked slowly. "We're already Genin. We graduated from the academy a couple days ago. Didn't Iruka-sensei tell you already?"

"Sorry to disappoint you Naruto, but that is only half correct. Out of the twenty seven graduates from the academy, only nine will become Genin. We instructor Jonin are assigned to find the best candidates, weeding out the weaklings. If you fail tomorrow, then you all will go back to the academy. So you three better be ready, your odds are already stacked against you."

"Odds? What do you mean odds?" Naruto questioned again as dread began to fill within him. Iruka-sensei had never said anything about all of this!

"You don't want to know," Kakashi said, still smiling cheerfully.

"You've already told us we don't want to know, so now we do," Shikamaru said leaning forward and placing his hands on his knees, dropping the lazy act and for once acting serious.

"Alright then, you asked for it. I'll be putting you through the most excruciating training you three have ever been through in your entire lives. You will be tested in all of your ninja abilities and survival techniques. Oh, and I might as well add that your chances of failing is already about sixty six percent."

All three student's eyes widened in shock, even Shikamaru's.

"I told you that you didn't want to know," Kakashi said with that I-told-you-so look in his eye.

Naruto looked at his two new teammates next to him. Would they be able to graduate? Well, the academy graduation requirement wasn't too hard. The only reason that it had been difficult for him was that it was over his worst jutsu. Maybe he would just have to show that he can throw a shuriken or something. Still, the sixty six percent failure thing was really starting to make him nervous.

"Well, that's all I wanted to say," Kakashi said standing to his feet and throwing a scroll to each of his new student's feet. "Meet me tomorrow at the designated area on that scroll at five o' clock. Oh, and don't bother eating breakfast tomorrow."

"Why shouldn't we eat breakfast?" Hinata asked nervously, though she said this slowly, fearing what the answer would be.

"Because you'll throw up," Kakashi responded with a laugh. With that said, the masked Jonin gave the three stunned Genin with a wave and a simple hand seal, disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

_Chapter Two is now in the books. Not much to say quiet yet. I will say thanks for reading and please, please leave a review. As fellow writers, you know how much they mean. Thanks again!_

_GAZ_


	3. The Bell Test

_And finally, we are at (as the title says) the bell test. This chapter was extremely fun to write and I hope that you all have just as much fun reading it._

_READ: Just as a second reminder, Hinata is in the branch family in my fic. I keep trying to put this in every other chapter, but somehow someone always ends up missing it. I apologize for any confusion that anyone has went through because of that. Sorry, and thank you for reading._

_Edit note (__5/29/09__): Wow…this chapter needed a lot of editing. But I've finally gotten through it all. Hopefully I've made it better._

* * *

Perhaps at the farthest point where you were still in the village, Hinata, Naruto, and Shikamaru approached each other simultaneously at the spot Kakashi had instructed them to meet that morning. It was so early in the day that the sun didn't even peak over the east horizon yet, and all three of them looked equally as tired as the other, of course Naruto couldn't tell if Shikamaru was tired or not sense he looked the same a usual.

"It seems Kakashi-sensei is late again," Hinata said looking around.

"Well he better come soon," Naruto said, sitting down and trying to rub the sleep from his eyes still. "And he better be bringing some breakfast too!" he added as his stomach began to growl loudly. "_Why did I have to listen to that stupid sensei and not eat my precious ramen?_"

Time passed slowly as the three waited. Hinata and Naruto looked lazily at the rising sun over the eastern trees, while Shikamaru gave up on staying awake after the first five minutes Kakashi hadn't shown up. Soon, both Hinata and Naruto joined him on the soft ground and also found themselves also nodding to sleep. None of them even noticed the sounds of dull footsteps approach them nearly an hour later.

"Hey," Kakashi said, waving in their direction.

"What the hell!" Naruto yelled, standing to his feet and pointing straight at the silver haired Jonin, exhaustion completely gone from his voice. "You're so late that it isn't even freakin' funny! Where the heck have you been?!"

"Well a whole retirement home of elderly women needed help crossing the street, so I decided to fulfill my ninja duties by helping them," their new sensei said smiling back.

"That is such a lie that even I can see it!" Naruto shouted angrily.

_And it has to be pretty obvious for Naruto to see it_, Shikamaru added mentally.

"Anyway, those old ladies would have been able to cross that stupid street without your help, don't you think it was a little more important to think about your students waiting for you this early. It's like nine in the morning!" Naruto continued raving.

"Calm down, don't waste your energy," Kakashi said calmly waving his hand in Naruto's direction. "You're going to need it for training."

At the word 'training', Hinata and Shikamaru stood to their feet, waiting for instruction. Very slowly, Kakashi took out a clock and three trays of complete meals. While doing this he glanced over at his students, seeing each of them eyeing the food hungrily. _Good, they hadn't eaten after all. At least they play by the rules. Of course, so did the others,_ he thought as he placed the trays on the rock beside him.

"Here are the rules," he said, taking out two bells from one of his pockets. "You are to take these silver bells from me, but you must take them by noon before the clock goes off, that's all. Those who get a bell will become a full fledged Genin," he said holding up the bells. "Not only that, but you'll get lunch. If you don't get them, you'll be tied up onto one of those poles…" he said pointing to his right where the wooden logs were, "…and watch me eat my own lunch."

"Um, Kakashi-sensei," Hinata piped up. "You only have two bells. There are three of us. Where's the other one?"

Kakashi laughed as he hooked the bells onto his side. "There is no other one," he said, surprising them all. "With only two bells, there is only a possibility of two of you becoming Genin. Whoever is not able to win a bell will go back to the academy. Of course, if none of you can get the one of the bells then all of you go back to the academy. It all depends on your…skill."

"So you're saying that at the most, only two of us will be able to become Genin, huh?" Shikamaru asked. "So this isn't only a battle with you, it's a battle with each other. Only two of us can get a bell, so we need to do all that is in our ability to get one bell before the other two do."

"I must be getting old, I could have sworn that I had said the same exact thing just a second ago," Kakashi said sighing.

"_How troublesome_," Shikamaru thought while he and his teammate's stomachs growled simultaneously. "_He did this to make us work harder. But with more work we put into this, the hungrier we become. The hungrier we become, the harder it will be to work. I should have just eaten breakfast like my dad said._"

"As I said yesterday, this training will be the most exhausting one you've ever been through," Kakashi continued. "You're allowed to use any weapons or jutsus you like. To succeed, you must be prepared to take my life."

A moment of silence followed. All of them knew that when they became a ninja, they would eventually have to go into battle with the intent to kill someone, but they had not expected that it would be so soon. After another moment or two, as usual, Naruto broke the silence.

"Well I'm not afraid!" Naruto said laughing boldly. "I'm going to kick your ass then wave that bell straight in your face. That will show you who the better ninja is!"

"If my memory serves, the cockiest students are always the worst students in the class. Troublemakers, class clowns, losers," the sliver haired Jonin said flatly, looking straight at the Kyuubi container.

Kakashi's words seemed to echo through Naruto's head. The boy thought through all the times that people called him a loser (mostly Sasuke) who thought that he would never get anywhere. Those people made him madder than hell. Now that he's a ninja, this Jonin thinks he can insult him like that and get away with that?

"I'll show you loser!" Naruto yelled, drawing out his kunai from his leg pouch. Naruto ignored the escaped gasp from Hinata and charged straight at Kakashi with his kunai aimed straight at the man's left chest. Suddenly, there was a blur of blue and silver, and the next thing he knew was that he was running at nothing. The blonde halted in his tracks and was about to turn back around, but it was then that he realized someone had grabbed his kunai and was holding it at the back of his neck. Naruto turned his eyes, only just able to see Kakashi standing behind him.

"Now just hold on a second," Kakashi said as if he was counseling a child who had just thrown a temper tantrum. "I haven't told you to start yet." He released Naruto and he retreated a few paces away, where Shikamaru and Hinata joined him.

"Hey, Hinata," Shikamaru whispered to the girl beside him. "You didn't happen to see any of that, did you?"

"…No," she said shaking her head, staring at her sensei in shock. It was…amazing. She had never seen anything so fast. No, she didn't see a thing! Even without her Byakugan activated, she should still be able to see things no regular ninja could see. But Kakashi had completely…disappeared. Out of sight, and then just materialized behind Naruto!

"That's not good. Not even you could see that with your Byakugan," Shikamaru said, looking unusually worried for him. "I guess this guy is a Jonin after all. Getting those bells won't be easy…"

"I'm kind of angry that you ignored my orders," Kakashi said scratching his head. "But, you did have the total intent on taking my life…" His students looked at him in surprise, all of them wondering if their new sensei was crazy. "So, perhaps I may have underestimated you all." Naruto smiled, happy that he had shown his sensei that he wasn't just some kid that was going to take anything from him. He pocketed his kunai knife in the pouch on his leg for later use, keeping its handle just outside the pocket like Sasuke had shown him. "Well now, with that said, you can get ready," he said, putting his hands in his pockets. Naruto and his teammates all momentarily stole a glance at the two bells and then toward their teammates, wondering who, if anybody would be able to get one.

"Start!" Kakashi said, and all three of them jumped in separate directions. Kakashi turned toward one of the ways they hadn't run off to, just to give them a little advantage. They needed all the help they could get. Two minutes later, Kakashi was standing alone in the open clearing, looking up at a cloud that he thought strongly resembled a bear taking a bubble bath. After another moment, he looked around, trying to find any sign of them.

"They've hidden themselves well. At least they can do that," he said, looking around in the trees further. That was when he heard the sound of footsteps _behind_ him, in the clearing. He sighed and turned around lazily to see, not surprisingly, Naruto.

"Hey you!" he called, pointing a finger at the Jonin as if there were other people present. "I want a fight. One on one! You and me!" he yelled so loudly that a couple birds behind Kakashi flew out of their trees.

"You know," Kakashi said, "your tactics during a battle are kind of…bizarre."

"By the time I'm done with you, your whole face will be bizarre," Naruto said, charging at him a full speed.

Kakashi sighed as he "narrowly" dodged Naruto's attack. The man looked at Naruto, only to see the wide grin on the boy's face. "Got you."

Kakashi sidestepped to his left and watched an orange blur fall from the tree that had come from another Naruto with kunai in hand. The next thing Kakashi knew, it was raining loudmouth ninjas, each trying its best to grab a bell. Though the ruckus did withdraw his boredom just a tad bit, Kakashi began to grow tired of moving around so much. With slowness he could only just bear, Kakashi drew a kunai and threw it in the general direction the original Naruto, who was doing a poor job at hiding himself while shouting orders to his clones. The orange clad blonde dodged the knife without totally needing to, but realized it too late. With the original out of the way, Kakashi unleashed a series of taijutsu moves on the kage bushins. One by one, they each of disappeared with an explosion of smoke, until all that was left was Kakashi and an exhausted Naruto.

"Is that all you really got?" Kakashi asked the blonde, who looked at Kakashi in utter astonishment. Kakashi was actually almost impressed by the move. Though the boy hadn't thought through his plan as much as he should have, he had been able to pull off an almost decent trap with a high level jutsu. Not to mention the extreme amount of chakra the technique required, yet he could still come out swinging. This boy definitely had some tricks up his sleeve.

Naruto in the mean time was pissed off that his plan that he had thought was flawless had…well flaws. He once again made the same hand sign to perform the technique once more, but stopped as a similar situation much like the one he was in now flashed through his head.

'_Don't keep wasting your chakra on moves that don't work. Every ninja knows that, dobe,' _Sasuke's words echoed inside his head. He had spoken those two sentences when Naruto had tried to trick him with a twice failed bushin jutsu. The worse part about it was that he was right. Well, then he would just have to kick Kakashi's ass the old fashion way!

"You think you're so cool, but you're no match for me!" Naruto exclaimed as he once again charged toward Kakashi. He stopped in his tracks as he saw the Jonin's hand stick into his side pocket strapped on his side.

"Review time, Naruto. Shinobi battle style number one, taijutsu," he said not looking at Naruto. "The fighting style of hand to hand combat…"

"_Wait_," Naruto said as he took out a kunai knife to defend himself with. "_He said hand to hand fighting, so why is he drawing out a weapon._"

Very dramatically, Naruto's sensei drew out a small orange book, looking at Naruto in a way that said to the blonde: _Do you dare approach me now? I will destroy you with my mighty book of death and destruction! Mwhahahahahaha!_ Naruto's mouth fell loosely, along with Shikamaru's and Hinata's who where still hiding) The Jonin's gaze though was short lived as his eye went downward to read the book, once again seeming to disregard Naruto's very existance.

"What the hell is that?!" Naruto yelled pointing at the book.

"A book, what does it look like?" Kakashi said flipping the small orange novel to the page he had marked the day before.

"What kind of ninja reads a book in the middle of a stinkin' fight?!" Naruto continued to yell. "And besides, why are you reading that anyway."

"Well to finish it, of course. I'm guessing your general knowledge is as competent as your ninja skills," he said as Naruto fumed in front of him. "Besides, with your pathetic ability, I have nothing to worry about."

"Oh yeah!" Naruto yelled, charging for the third time at the sensei. "I'll show who is really weak here!"

When he finally reached Kakashi, Naruto swung his fist toward the Jonin's head, which he dodged without taking his eyes from his book. Still in mid air, Naruto twirled and tried to kick him, which Kakashi blocked with his right arm. With a final frustrated roar, Naruto put both hands on the ground and launched himself at Kakashi, though ended up hitting nothing more than soft grass.

"Where'd he go?" Naruto asked himself, trying to find his opponent.

"Too easy," Kakashi said softly as he bent down behind Naruto, just low enough for him to not be seen.

Hinata, who was hiding in a tree nearby, gasped in horror to see the hand sign behind her best friend. It was the sign of the tiger, an Uchiha fire hand sign that she had been warned about. The Hyuugas never liked the Uchiha clan for their reputation of being the so called "strongest clan" in Konoha. During her early years (when the Uchiha clan was at the height of its power and she was not yet considered a failure to the family), she was constantly drilled on the fire style hand signs, the Uchiha's signature attribute. What her sensei was making was one of the most powerful fire jutsu techniques, only used when defending against high ranking enemy ninja. And he was going to use it on Naruto?!

"Naruto! Run!" Hinata yelled. "He's going to kill you!"

Naruto turned over in Hinata's direction. "Did Hinata really just yell?" His mind finally took in her message and he saw Kakashi behind him with the hand sign.

"Never let down your guard, you never know what your enemy will do next," Kakashi said menacingly behind him. "Now it's too late."

"Ah, shit!" Naruto yelled, trying to run.

"Konohagakure Hiden: Taijutsu no Ōgi!" he yelled, inserting his two index fingers into Naruto's rear end. The blonde's eye twitched in pain, and then was sent twenty feet in the air with his hands on his rear. "Sennen Goroshi!" Kakashi finished with a dramatically deep voice. With that done, Kakashi sighed and turned back around, not really paying attention to the splash behind him of Naruto landing in the nearby stream. He was becoming bored of all this mediocre Genin fighting, though he still walked closer to the stream for Naruto. Hopefully he won't be that loud.

Just as Kakashi thought, Naruto surfaced from the water, breathing in air heavily and seeming almost too weak to even stand, let alone fight. The boy made a couple failed attempts to stand up, but each and every time he would just fall back down to the ground, panting as if he had just run a mile.

"Why don't you just give up already?" Kakashi asked Naruto, looking down at him with book still in hand. "You already know that you can't beat me."

"Just give me a second and I'll show you how good I am," Naruto said trying to stand to his feet, but fell down once again as he clutched his stomach.

"Look at yourself, your in no condition to fight as it is," Kakashi said sighing.

"That's because you told us not to eat any food!" Naruto shouted as his stomach growled even further. Kakashi sighed again, although he had to admit he admired the boy's determination. The blonde haired boy reminded him of another spiky haired annoying boy from his early childhood…

"Just give up," Kakashi continued, showing no signs of his recent thoughts of the past. "I'll just send you back to the academy and you can try next year. It's nothing to be ashamed of."

"No way in hell," Naruto said, actually able to stand to his feet to Kakashi's small surprise. "I'm a ninja now, and that's not going to change anytime soon. Because I have a dream…to be the greatest Hokage ever," he said breathing deeply. "And no crazy-haired Jonin is going to get in my way!"

Naruto rushed once more at Kakashi, aiming a high kick for his head. Without even taking his eyes away from his book, Kakashi was able to block the attack by merely raising his left arm. Naruto then did something that Kakashi didn't expect him to do. Instead of retaliating with another punch, Naruto used Kakashi's arm to push on, using his leg to flip himself right side up. Taking advantage of Kakashi's surprise, Naruto quickly grabbed the kunai that was still hanging out of his pouch from before and threw it. Its target: Kakashi's neck. With nimbleness that only a Jonin could possess, Kakashi leaned backwards and was able dodge the kunai. Naruto silently celebrated when he noticed the awkward position Kakashi was in, there was no way he could dodge now.

"I've got you!" Naruto yelled as he landed on the ground and prepared himself for a go at the bells. Unfortunately though, he found that Kakashi had disappeared once again.

"Where did he go now?" the Kyuubi vessel yelled in frustration, looking around desperately for the Jonin.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru continued to watch Naruto as he tied yet another string to a tree. After watching the entire fight between Naruto and Kakashi, Shikamaru had to admit that he hadn't given Kakashi enough credit before. Throughout the entire fight, Kakashi had been in control. He was the one calling the shots; he was the one who knew exactly what to expect before Naruto even did it. It was incredible. The lazy ninja took out his kunai from his side pouch and twirled it in his hand for a moment. He knew that Naruto was pretty much done for. The kid was beaten up, tired, and had lost a lot of chakra with his two consecutive Kage Bushin no Jutsus. But the good thing was that Naruto had captured Kakashi's entire attention. He probably wouldn't be expecting the other two Genin to attack while he is dealing with Naruto.

"I'm not going to let what happened to Naruto happen to me," the Nara said to himself, finalizing his trap that he had been working on ever since Naruto had captured Kakashi's attention.

All the while, Naruto was still dumbfounded by the disappearance of his sensei. He couldn't figure out how Kakashi could have escaped so fast. Was he really that quick? Or was it something else? This was pushed into the far reaches of his mind because at that moment, from the corner of his eye, he saw a small spec of light glisten on the ground. His eyes widened as he saw a single bell lying at the base of a tree, but his look of shock was soon changed to a sly grin.

"I guess I got him after all. What a jerk, thinking he's so much better than me!" he shouted as he walked toward the bell and bent over to grab it. Just as he touched the bell with the tip of his index finger, a rope snagged around his leg and yanked him up into the tree. Naruto yelled in both surprise and fury as he hung upside down and bounced with the rope. He tried futilely to grab the bell, clawing at the small insignificant item like his life depended on it. He was so focused on the bell below him that he didn't even notice Kakashi approaching until he had picked up the bell.

"If the bait is obvious, don't go for it," the lazy Jonin sighed as he strung the bell back onto his side.

"Ah! Give me that!" Naruto yelled as he tried to punch Kakashi, although all he accomplished was spinning himself in a circle while his sensei didn't even have to move.

"I think that Iruka is becoming a little soft," Kakashi said as he continued to look up at Naruto lazily. "I haven't seen a prospective Genin as pitiful as you in all my days as a shinobi."

Naruto looked at him sourly, but then his face changed to realization and he just made a single hand sign, though it wasn't the one he usually used to make his Kage Bushins. "I guess I'm going to have to show you how good I am then!" he yelled as he continued through the hand signs. Kakashi looked at the strung up ninja curiously, but then his single eye widened in a look of shock as he finally recognized the hand seals.

"There's no way! Genin can't use that move! It takes too much chakra!" he yelled. The only reason that he had not recognized it earlier was because he never expected someone so young would be capable of performing it.

_I guess all those times I got beaten up by Sasuke was worth something after all_, Naruto thought as he finished the last hand sign. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" A great fireball erupted from Naruto's mouth that headed straight toward Kakashi, enveloping the whole area where he stood in flame. Inwardly, Naruto was jumping up and down in victory. Today had been the first time he actually performed the jutsu and had it come out the way he wanted it to. Sure, even he could tell that it wasn't as powerful as Sasuke's, but it was still enough for him to charbroil that lousy sensei.

When Naruto finally let the technique stop, he felt a wave of exhaustion sweep over him. He was surprised at how much chakra that had taken out of him. How was Sasuke able to do that over and over again? But soon, he found himself even more surprised to see that Kakashi had disappeared. All the grass in the area where Kakashi once stood was gone, but that didn't mean the Jonin should have been reduced to ashes too. He had escaped…

"Where'd he go now?!" the upside down blonde yelled, looking around.

"That was almost impressive," Kakashi said as he appeared suddenly in front of Naruto. "If you would have done that earlier, you might have gotten me. But you decided to do all the signs in front of my face. Thanks a lot; it gave me time to react. By the looks of you, it seems that you've also drained most of your remaining chakra with that last attack. If this wasn't only an exercise, you'd be dead right now."

"I can still fight!" Naruto yelled, though his voice betrayed him and showed how tired he really was.

"Another trait a ninja must have: know your limit. But you seem to not have that learned yet, have you?" Kakashi continued. "Your abilities can only described as sad," he finished. "How many actual ninja do you know actually get strung up in a tree? You need to learn when to expect a trap."

"Like now?"

With a gasp, Naruto saw Shikamaru transform from a rock behind Kakashi with a kunai in his hand. With a un-Shikamaru like shout, he grasped the knife with two hands and buried it straight into the Jonin's back. For a brief moment both Genin were silent. Naruto was in a state of shock at what the so-called "laziest ninja" had just done. Kakashi sputtered and fell to his knees, not saying a word.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto yelled with a look of shock on his face. He had never seen him act like that before. Said lazy ninja on the other hand, was looking at the knife that had been lodged into Kakashi's back. He had stabbed deep; the only part of the kunai that could be seen was the handle. But for some reason, there was no blood.

Both Naruto and Shikamaru simultaneously let out a cry of surprise, as they saw their sensei turn into a very fat log.

"What the…?" Naruto said looking at the piece of wood.

Shikamaru on the other hand was saying a few words that even Naruto would be hesitant to speak. "Kawarimi no Jutsu, I should have known!" he shouted as he bolted away toward the trees.

"Hey! How about helping me down?!" Naruto yelled after him.

For a moment, Shikamaru considered this option. After seeing Kakashi's abilities…he figured that he might at the most have a fifteen percent chance of grabbing a with all the traps that he had set in place. If Naruto would give him some help, it would make his job a lot easier… He shook his head though after thinking further into the subject. Naruto and Hinata had been nearly inseparable back at the academy. He knew if Naruto had any choice in the matter, he would choose Hinata becoming a Genin with him over Shikamaru. He couldn't bring himself to trust him yet. If anyone else had been on his team besides Hinata or Sasuke in that matter, then maybe. He couldn't blame him though, he probably would have done the exact same thing with Choji. And he would never hear the end of it if either Choji or Ino became a Genin and he didn't. Without another second of hesitation, Shikamaru took off once again in pursuit of his sensei.

"Man," Naruto said, crossing his arms while he was still upside down. "That guy has no manners whatsoever. You won't be seeing me doing him any favors anytime soon."

* * *

"Where is he?" Shikamaru asked himself, standing on a branch about thirty meters away from where Naruto was hanging. Judging how Naruto was looking around, he didn't know he was there. That at least wouldn't hint to Kakashi where he was hiding. On the other hand, he had no idea whatsoever where the Jonin was hiding. And with his speed, he could probably dash off somewhere else in the blink of an eye if Shikamaru actually did spot him. "He has to be close by," he told himself, peeking through the branches.

"Good accusation," someone said from behind him. Shikamaru didn't waste time. Without even looking behind him he drew out a kunai and threw it in the direction of the voice. Just as he had heard, Kakashi was standing behind him on a nearby branch, but jumped down from the tree to dodge the kunai.

"_Just as I planned_," Shikamaru smirked as he took out five more shuriken and threw them one at a time at Kakashi.

Said Jonin was still in mid air, dodging every attack that was coming at him with aerial flips and other slightly show-offy moves. He felt mildly disturbed at the boy's method. His throws were accurate, but he wasn't putting any effort into hitting him. It was as if he was planning something. Or, he was just being plain lazy. …Or he was planning something.

Kakashi looked downward towards where he was heading and his eye widened when he beheld what was on the ground. He was heading into a death trap. Small, sizzling red paper covered the ground, with some of them already crackling from preparation of exploding. So he was only trying to distract him long enough so that he wouldn't notice what was under him…Damn. As soon as he hit the ground, the whole the earth seemed to explode around him. Some of the flames began to burn his clothes and lick his skin. With a little added chakra, he jumped back into the air just before the entire area was burnt to a crisp.

"Paper bombs," he said to himself, looking back at the, although he couldn't help wincing while admitting it, trap he had nearly fallen in. When he landed on the ground, he turned back to the spot where the boy was in the tree.

The Jonin fell over onto the ground in utter shock of what he saw. Kakashi, a man who had been through so many S-ranked missions that he had taught himself to expect any kind of fighting technique, was caught off guard. The boy was finding a comfy spot on the tree and leaning backwards and closing his eyes, trying to sleep. After a couple moments, Shikamaru barely even opened one of his eyes to see the Jonin looking up at him in astonishment. Looking back at Kakashi, he gave him an uncaring stare then yawned before crossing his arms behind his back and shutting his eyes.

Kakashi continued to stare blankly at the boy curiously. For someone that had pulled off such a great, no, brilliant plan, he sure was a lazy. Seems kind of stupid that he would just give up that easily. Or perhaps…he hadn't given up.

About seven shuriken flew at him with deadly speed and accuracy. Kakashi smiled from under his mask as he saw the Shikamaru bushin that he had been looking at disappeared with a muffled explosion. Once again, he preformed another chakra empowered jump to the side to dodge the weapons. But when Kakashi turned around again to land, he saw that the kid had led him into yet another trap. Makabishi spikes where spread in a wide area, making it impossible for Kakashi to land without landing on some of them. And by the rate he was heading toward the ground, he would probably have to kneel to cushion the fall, which seemed at the moment out of the question. With a simple hand sign, he created a quick kage bushin. The doppelganger landed on the ground which Kakashi used to jump off of before it disappeared, putting him out of danger.

"Kagemane no Jutsu!"

"No!" Kakashi yelled, but it was too late. As soon as he hit the ground, he was under the control of Shikamaru. The Nara boy's shadow had stretched about an extra six meters and had connected with Kakashi's feet. Kakashi struggled to free himself from Shikamaru's jutsu, but not even he was able to break free from it.

"Got ya…" Shikamaru said with a surprising smile, though kind of forced from the struggle of keeping Kakashi in place.

_Who is this kid?_ Kakashi asked himself as he began doing the same things Shikamaru was doing, which included him doing a little bunny walk and poking himself in the visible eye.

"Like it?" Shikamaru asked. "Kagemane no Jutsu, you're completely trapped," he said, stretching his legs and having Kakashi do the exact same thing.

"Brilliant, but what exactly are you going to do now?" Kakashi asked as he continued to stretch along with Shikamaru. "You can't attack me without me attacking back. Do you really think that this will accomplish anything?"

"Well," Shikamaru said tapping his side. "I don't need to attack you."

As soon as Kakashi tapped his side as well, he understood what the boy was doing. He was going to have Kakashi give him the bell. The kid didn't even have to fight. Then again, the only fighting he had done was his attempt to stab Kakashi with a kunai, along with throwing a couple of shuriken. He had just let the traps he had set do all the work for him while he waited patiently for it all to unfold. And Kakashi had played right into his hand. The kid was clever, he had to give him that.

"You see, if I told you that I was good at hand to hand combat, it would be a lie. In short, I suck. So I just had to put up a couple of traps and presto, here we are. So, I'll just take that bell from…"

Shikamaru didn't even let out the rest of his sentence before he stood gaping at his shadow. It no longer connected to anything, Kakashi was completely gone. He had vanished, disappeared without a trace.

"Man, what happened now?" he groaned as he kept turning his head, trying to find where Kakashi had gone. There wasn't one sign of him. The only thing he could see was his shadow, stretching out to try and find a target. "How'd he do it?" Shikamaru asked himself as he took a step toward the trees. "It's impossible for anyone to get out of my jutsu." In mid step, Shikamaru froze and spun around on his heel. If it's impossible, that meant…

"Too late," Kakashi said. Kakashi let the genjutsu go and jumped backwards to put distance between him and the newly discovered clever ninja. "You're pretty good," Kakashi said putting his hands inside his pockets. "You're able to think three steps ahead of an opponent if you know them well enough. That was why you didn't attack me when Naruto was. You wanted to see how my mind worked. Analyzing my strategies and reactions to every situation I was in. Pretty impressive for a rookie," he said, Shikamaru's corners of his mouth curve up slightly into a smile. "However, your plans only work well if you know _everything_ about your opponent. You need someone else to demonstrate what to do, which turns out to be your one weakness."

"Why the heck are you telling me this?" Shikamaru asked suspiciously.

"Isn't that what teachers are supposed to do, educate their students?" Kakashi said laughing.

"So, you mean I pass?" Shikamaru said lazily, though it did sound as if it had a spec of hope in it.

"Not quite," Kakashi laughed. "You still don't understand the principle of this exercise."

"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru asked with a frown. "It's to test who is the best, right? To see who is able to get the bell, isn't it?"

"You're the smart one," Kakashi said shrugging. "You tell me."

"This is so troublesome," Shikamaru groaned as he drew a kunai from the holster on his leg and prepared himself to charge. Although he liked his sleep time, he really didn't want to go back to the academy with a bunch of little brats. It would just be too troublesome.

* * *

Meanwhile, Naruto was having some trouble of his own. Kakashi had chosen perhaps the toughest rope Naruto had ever seen. He had been cutting it with his kunai for the last couple of minutes. He was partially mad that he had used that fire jutsu when he did, he was now too exhausted to use it again to burn the rope.

"Well, I don't need some stupid jutsu Sasuke showed me," he said as he continued to cut away. "I can beat him on my own with my own jutsu. He's going to regret the day that he hung me up in a tree!"

Finally, he cut through the rope and flipped over to land on the ground feet first. He looked over and, to his surprise, saw Shikamaru fighting Kakashi. Although after a little while, it began to bore Naruto. It was obvious that Shikamaru didn't stand a snowball's chance against Kakashi, who wasn't even trying to attack Shikamaru.

"I got it!" Naruto said snapping his fingers. "While Shikamaru is distracting him, I'll go and take the bell with one of my tricks! He's going to get it now!" he said as he began to start his walk toward the two. Unfortunately, by his second step, another rope wrapped around his ankle and hung him up again. He didn't even yell in surprise. He just hung upside down and swung back and forward with a face that looked like a combination of frustration and disappointment.

"Naruto-kun?"

The blonde looked up (down?) in surprise at hearing his name, wondering who it was. Out from behind a bush, Hinata walked into the open and looked up at Naruto. The boy let out a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his head. This wasn't what he would call the most glamorous position he had ever been in.

"Um, hey Hinata-chan, how you doing?"

"Just fine," she said, but she still let out a giggle, much to Naruto's dismay. "I think Kakashi-sensei went a little overboard…"

"He caught me off guard, that's all! Once I get down, I'll get him back," he said smiling proudly. He then turned away with an embarrass blush. "Um, would you mind…?"

"Sure, Naruto-kun," Hinata said taking out a kunai from her pouch and threw it at the string. Much to Naruto's surprise, it broke without a fight, catching him off guard and causing him to hit the ground with a thud.

"Ow…" he said his sore head, though he looked up gratefully at Hinata. "Thanks for helping me down, Hinata-chan."

"N-no problem," she said blushing and pushing her fingers together much like she did many years ago.

"So, how's Shikamaru doing?" Naruto asked as he finally rose to his feet and dusted himself off.

"He's still fighting Kakashi-sensei, though it seems as if neither of them is really trying."

"So Shikamaru is still fighting Kakashi…" Naruto said slyly. He smiled his fox-like grin and grabbed Hinata by the arm, pulling her along with him.

"Um, Naruto-kun, where are we going?" she asked. She had been taken a little off guard from the Naruto's action. As soon as they were in the bushes though, Hinata's entire face became beat red as they traveled farther into the brush together…alone…

"To get some food," he said turning his head around to face her, though he kept on running. "Shikamaru will keep fighting and keep Kakashi-sensei busy, but he won't be paying attention to us. Or the food…"

Hinata's heart suddenly started beating again, feeling silly that she had thought otherwise. Still, she couldn't help but find herself feeling a little bit disappointed… "But Kakashi-sensei said that we couldn't eat unless we got a bell," she said, hoping that Naruto would not notice what remained of her blush.

"Hinata-chan, if we want to pass this test, we need all the strength we can get," Naruto explained. "And besides, we just have to eat our food before he can find us. We just have to be fast. Don't you worry, Hinata-chan. Everything will be just fine."

* * *

Shikamaru threw both of his kunai at Kakashi which the Jonin dodged easily, resulting in the knives becoming stuck in the tree that was just behind Kakashi. Shikamaru realized that he was beginning to run out of plans. None of them had been as effective as his first, and now that Kakashi knew what he could do he was much more careful, especially around his shadow. He had attempted his Kagemane no Jutsu one more time during their battle, yet was not able to catch Kakashi. When that didn't work, he once again charged forward in an attempt to punch Kakashi in the face, which ended up only coming in contact with the his opponent's arm. In a last ditch effort, he tried a spinning kick, but was also blocked. His attack wasn't just blocked though. Kakashi grabbed his whole leg and held the boy at arms length away, having him hang upside down just out of reach.

"How troublesome," Shikamaru sighed upside down, not even trying to break out of Kakashi's grip.

"You're something else, Shikamaru," Kakashi said dropping the boy to the ground without even a warning. "You have a brilliant mind, yet next to Naruto, you have some of the worst test scores in the academy. Now either you actually aren't that smart and that trap you laid was a fluke, or you're just plain lazy.

"It's probably a little of both," the inactive ninja said standing to his feet, not showing any sign of hostility.

Kakashi grinned with mischief glowing in his visible eye. "Well if you want to be lazy, I have a perfect place for you…"

Shikamaru's eyes widened in surprise as Kakashi disappeared suddenly without a trace. Before he could even look around to check where he had gone, his heart skipped a beat as he felt something grasping his ankle. He looked down and saw, much to his shock, a gloved hand grasping it tightly. The next thing that the Nara knew, his entire body was under ground from up to his neck. He blinked twice in surprise before Kakashi reappeared in front of him with a closed eyed smile.

"Bet this is the first time you've ever seen a Doton Jutsu," Kakashi said as Shikamaru's eyes looked around him, not actually believing what had just happened to him. "It is mainly used to keep enemy ninjas trapped when you have to leave to find another enemy or meet back up with your group. I haven't used it in a little while, so thanks for the practice." Standing back up to his feet, Kakashi turned his back to Shikamaru and began to walk away. "I suppose I should check up on the other two…"

"So what am I supposed to do now?" Shikamaru called after him, slightly intimidated that his sensei would leave him out here.

"I don't know, but you seem to be a pretty smart kid. I'm sure you'll figure out the way to get out...eventually," Kakashi said, chuckling at his own stupid joke. With that said he disappeared, leaving Shikamaru alone in the middle of the field.

"How troublesome," Shikamaru sighed. "I'm starting to forget the reason I became a shinobi…"

* * *

"Okay, coast is clear," Naruto whispered over to Hinata. Immediately, he jumped out of the bushes that he was hiding in and approached the food that sat on the lonely looking rock, just lying there for the taking. Hinata followed, but she was more at walking speed, while Naruto ran the entire way there.

"So Hinata-chan, which one do you want? Don't worry, I don't care!" Naruto asked as he looked at the food eagerly, holding up each meal for her to choose. "Oh, this one looks really good…"

"But, Naruto-kun," Hinata said quietly, "Kakashi-sensei will find out, and then we'll be in trouble. What if he fails us?"

"Don't worry Hinata," the blonde encouraged her while he was already unwrapping one of the dinners. "He said that if we get the bells, we pass. So even if he does figure out that we ate the food, we'll already be ninjas and he won't be able to do anything about it."

"M-maybe we don't need to eat," Hinata said shyly. Naruto looked up curiously at what Hinata said. "Well, maybe if we work together, we can both get the bells and pass," she explained.

Her friend scratched the back of his head for a moment, thinking about her proposition. "Well, we'll see," he said tossing her one of the still wrapped dinners. "Just let me eat this first, I'm about to keel over," he said, taking his chopsticks and going for the rice on the left side.

"Naruto, we'll get in trouble," Hinata warned.

"You should listen to your friend more," a voice said from above them. Both friends suddenly froze in fear. Reluctantly, Naruto looked up and saw Kakashi gazing down at them. Although he only had one eye, it was obvious that he was staring more at Naruto than Hinata standing across from him.

"Hey, Sensei," Naruto laughed nervously with a wave. "Nice weather today, huh?"

"I bet you wish you listened to me now," the Jonin said with a sigh.

* * *

"Man, this is embarrassing," Naruto said. The boy was currently tied up to a post, looking out at his two teammates in embarrassment. Hinata was looking at him in worry, yet Shikamaru's eyes actually hinted some amusement in them. They had failed, the cloak went off about ten minutes ago, and the bells continued to jingle on the side of Kakashi's waist.

"Well, I've made my decision," Kakashi said looking at the team ominously. "I've decided which two will not be sent back to the academy."

For a second, all three of the Genin exchanged confused glances at one and other. Finally, Hinata raised her hand. "But Kakashi-sensei, you said that to not be sent back to the academy, we would have to take the bells…We weren't able to get any of them from you."

"I know," Kakashi said. "Therefore, I've decided two of you won't be going back to the academy."

Even Shikamaru's head began to ache after hearing this. The reason they weren't going back to the academy was because they didn't get the bells…but they were told to get them otherwise they would return to the academy?

"Yes, I've decided to send one person back to the academy. Hinata…that person is you," Kakashi said looking at the girl.

Naruto's heart felt as if it had been stabbed by a kunai. He looked over at Hinata, who now was hiding her white Hyuuga eyes behind her bangs. Naruto knew exactly what she was thinking. She thought that she had failed, that she didn't deserve to be a ninja. She was thinking that she would never be accepted by her family again, and that she would have to watch her friends become ninja from afar and just hope that she would be able to join them someday.

"Naruto and Shikamaru," Kakashi said, turning to the other two ninja. "You two will not be going back to the academy."

"But Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said respectfully, "can't you let Hinata-chan in too? She's worked really hard to be a ninja and is really smart. Why can't she be a Genin too?"

"Whoever said you two passed?" Kakashi asked turning to Naruto this time.

"Uh, you did?" the blonde said cockily, forgetting that he was trying to be respectful.

"No. Neither of you got the whole reason of this exercise. Hinata didn't either, but she came a lot closer than either of you. And that is why she is going back to the academy. You two however…" he said coldly, "will not be going back to the academy or becoming Genin. You two will be dropped from the ninja program all together."

"What?!" Naruto yelled.

"What do you mean?" Shikamaru said standing to his feet and swinging his arm in front of him. "You don't have the authority to do that! You can't just decide this on your own!"

"I do, and I am," Kakashi said turning so that he was only looking at them from the side. "None of you were able to figure out what this whole training test was about."

"So what is this about then?" Shikamaru asked. "What's this big hype that you're getting so worked up about?"

"You really don't have a clue, do you?" Kakashi asked. "Think about it, why do we put you into three man squads? Well…"

The three Genin sat in silence, trying their best to avoid their sensei's now frightfully angry eye.

"Teamwork!" Kakashi exploded. The children looked up at him, not believing how easy the answer really was. "We put all of you with two other ninja so that you'd learn what is truly important for a functioning team," he said, walking toward his three students. Shikamaru and Hinata backed up a step in caution. Kakashi did not seem to be in what one could call a cheery mood right now. "Without good teamwork, villages will be destroyed, people die, or you're best friend could be killed. When your teamwork lacks, you are put into a situation where you are forced to make an impossible decision, such as…" he said drawing a kunai and turning toward the Hyuuga girl to his right. "Hinata, kill Shikamaru or Naruto dies!"

All three teammates gasped in horror as the deadly weapon became frightfully close to Naruto's throat. And with the blonde being tied up to the poll, the only thing he could do is watch the knife with wide eyes, trying to lean his head as far away as possible from the dagger.

"As far as I care, none of you deserve to be a ninja. Naruto," he said turning to the boy that he had captured and pushing the kunai a little closer to his throat, "you thought that you could do everything yourself just because you had confidence. It is something that every ninja needs, but there is a fine line between confidence and stupidity.

"And Shikamaru, instead of taking advantage of rescuing Naruto to get some help, you instead decided that you would rather leave him tied up in a tree and out of the way. You figured that you could go it alone because you think you're so smart. In the end, you were no better than Naruto.

"Hinata was the only one who actually came close to the objective. She knew that none of you stood a chance against me, so she asked for help. Unfortunately, her best friend was too busy with his meal to pay any attention to what she was saying."

Naruto looked down to the ground in shame, wishing that he wasn't such a jerk.

"Our system is based on the three people we feel to be best suited for each other. This survey spat you guys up for a 'team'. In theory, you all should work great with each other," he said taking his kunai from Naruto's throat, allowing the teenagers to breathe again. "But without each of you committing to becoming a team and working together, it means nothing."

The man walked away, making the three think that he was just going to leave them there by themselves, but instead, he stopped in front of the monument that was in front of them.

"You see this?" he asked, still facing the rock, his voice surprisingly soft. "This rock is dedicated to specific ninja from the village. They are heroes, protectors of this village. This monument here was placed so that none shall forget their courage."

"Hey, that sounds cool," Naruto said looking at Hinata. "Maybe we could be able to get our names on that rock someday. We'll be heroes!"

"These people are a specific kind of heroes. They are known as the K.I.A…" Kakashi responded, still staring at the stone.

"Whoa…K.I.A. That sounds really cool, huh Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked the girl next to him.

"Why don't you think before you open your big mouth," Shikamaru said glaring at Naruto. "K.I.A means 'killed in action'." Naruto's happy features suddenly turned to shock. He looked down at his feet, ashamed of his ignorance.

"These ninja died for their village, protecting it with their lives. Everyone I've ever loved is on this stone. Without their bravery, this village would have been destroyed ages ago."

Hinata, Shikamaru, and Naruto looked away, none of them able to look at the ninja in the eyes. Or eye…? Suddenly, both Hinata and Shikamaru were surprised to see two dinners thrown down in front of them.

"Alright, I'll give you all one more chance, but only one. Shikamaru and Hinata are permitted to eat, but not Naruto. That's his punishment for breaking the rules. But if either of you give Naruto food, you automatically fail. I'll be back in ten minutes. I suggest you eat quickly," Kakashi said turning and walking away.

A few minutes past and all three of them just stared at the food that they had been longing for the longest of time. They each felt as if they didn't deserve it, but their stomachs betrayed them and forced Hinata and Shikamaru to eat. During this time, Naruto tried his best to not stare at his teammates eating, both of the obviously very conscious of him. His stomach was literally killing him. He felt as if he was about to pass out.

Shikamaru noticed Naruto's pain and looked down at his food. With a sigh, he stood up and got between the tied up Naruto and Hinata.

"Listen up," Shikamaru said, kneeling down so that he was eye level with Hinata and close enough to Naruto so he could hear his whisper. "Me and Hinata don't have a chance against this guy, as we all know now," he said, receiving sad nods from his teammates. "And with Naruto as he is now, he'd probably absolutely useless since he's so hungry."

"Hey!"

"Just listen for a second, Naruto. Here's my plan, I'm going to eat half of my food and then hide it up that tree," he said pointing. "When Kakashi starts the training again, me and Hinata will keep him busy while you, Naruto, go and eat."

"But Kakashi-sensei said…" Naruto began.

"Can you really pass up this tasty, juicy food?" Shikamaru asked bringing the tray only inches from Naruto's face, just close enough for Naruto to whiff the meal's aroma. "The chicken in particular is very juicy." With a gulp, Naruto shook his head.

"Good. Eat up, Hinata," Shikamaru said while beginning to split the rest of his food in half.

"But…I don't think I'm able to move after all that fighting. I need food now," Naruto whimpered.

"I-I can give you some of my food," Hinata stammered. Shikamaru and Naruto both looked over at the shy Hyuuga girl in surprise. "I mean…I get full faster than both of you," she said blushing. "So maybe Naruto can have some of my food before Kakashi-sensei comes back."

"If you want to give up your food, that's fine with me. Just get it over with before it's too late," Shikamaru said, keeping a sharp eye out for any sign of Kakashi.

"Thanks, Hinata-chan," Naruto with a guilty look on his face. "Hey, um…I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you. I was a real jerk."

"No problem," Hinata said kindly back, picking up a piece of chicken and placing it in Naruto's mouth. She was about to grab another piece when the wind around the Genin suddenly began to blow violently, nearly sending Hinata and Shikamaru flying in the process. With a great explosion, Kakashi appeared in front of them and looked at them in utter rage.

"You…little…brats! You disobeyed my direct orders, now you will _all_ pay," he said menacingly. Team Seven looked their instructor in fear, watching the sky above their heads turn black and the ground that Kakashi stood on begin to die around him.

"But…" Naruto began, but stopped as Kakashi looked at him with one his visible eye. Naruto looked at Shikamaru and Hinata, where he found the courage to continue. "You said that we need to work as a team! They were only giving me some food because they cared about me!" Both of Kakashi's hands shot out electricity and hit the ground, making Naruto flinch but not back down. "You kept saying how we need to work together, but now that we finally start helping each other you get pissed?! What the hell are you, a hypocrite?!"

"Naruto's right!" Hinata added in, catching her teammates by surprise when she drew out a kunai. "If you want to get to Naruto-kun and Shikamaru, you'll have to get through me."

"And don't think I'll just stand around and let you hurt these two either," Shikamaru added sternly, though his voice still had a touch of laziness in it. Together, he and Hinata cut the rope holding Naruto bound to the log, setting him free. "If you want to take on one of us, you'll have to take on the other two as well."

"And if you try and take us on," Naruto continued, already beginning to gather up his chakra for another kage bushin technique, "we'll kick your ass, no matter what rank you are! We're a team now, and there is nothing you can do about it!"

Kakashi went through some hand signs and took a step forward, though the Genin in front of him stood their ground against him. _They have lost their fear…_ "You're a team now?! That's all you've got to say?!" he said threateningly. All three of them nodded in unison. And just like that, the blackened skies began to clear above their heads, surprising the three teammates. Kakashi relaxed his arms and put them to his hips, leaning forward with his eye curved into a smile.

"Team Seven, congratulations, you pass," he said cheerfully. A moment of silence followed. Naruto and his teammates could not believe what they had just heard.

"What did you say?" Naruto asked, still slightly stunned at what he had just heard.

"You pass," Kakashi repeated. "You three have finally realized what I've been trying to get through to you this whole time. To have any chance to succeed, you needed to believe in each other, trust each other. When you finally realized that, you no longer had any fear, even against an opponent several times more powerful than you. Because you knew that if you were in trouble, your teammates…no, your friends would protect you. With their lives. That is what being on a team is all about."

"But we broke the rules," Hinata said.

"Yes, you did. But you saw that there are more important things out there than following the rules. Sure," Kakashi said turning toward the stone that he had shown them just a few minutes ago, "those who don't play by the rules are trash. But those that abandon their friends…are worse than trash. So Team Seven, you are all now honorary ninjas!"

"I'm a ninja!" Naruto yelled jumping up and down. "I'm a ninja! We're all ninjas!" he kept repeating as he wrapped his arms around both Shikamaru and Hinata's shoulder and began jumping up and down.

"Ah come on, not now!" Shikamaru said with an uncharacteristic laugh. Hinata stayed silent, though she was enjoying how happy her crush was.

"Come on," Kakashi said turning his back to them, though still turned his head so he could see them. "Let's get something to eat. My treat," he said as he started to walk off.

"Um, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said from behind him. Kakashi turned around to face his three new students. He then let out a chuckle to see the position they were in. Each of them had collapsed on the ground with their stomachs growling fiercely. "Could…we eat the food we have here first?" Naruto continued as he grabbed one of the trays. "Just to get our strength?"

"You bet," Kakashi said smiling from behind his mask, watching the first team to ever pass his test dig into their meal savagely.

* * *

_And there's my extra long chapter, I hope that it makes up for the crappy one that I did last time…Well, I guess I'll see you all later. Up next, Naruto and co. starts their first C-ranked mission…yes, THAT C-ranked mission… Comments appreciated._

_NOTICE: If you have any original jutsu ideas, either send me a PM or a review and I may add it in my fic, perhaps not right away but I may still put it in later. Just send in the name and description. By the way, you'll have a better chance of it getting in if you also tell me how my chapter went. Super powered moves probably won't be put it, unless they are done by a supper powered ninja (as in non-Genin)._

GAZ


	4. The Fated Mission

_Well everybody, here I am, the Great and not so powerful GAZ (thank you to my friend, Isran, for the new nickname). And so here we are, the first chapter of the always present in every __Naruto__fic__Land__ of Waves Arc. We won't see any Zabuza or Haku this chapter, but the Demon of the Hidden Mist will at least make an appearance in the next one. Hope you enjoy the chapter!_

_Don't own Naruto...if I did, then Kabuto would have already gotten his head cut off, only to be sewed back on by Orochimaru but then cut off again. I hate that bastard..._

* * *

"Hey, Kakashi," Shikamaru said as he put his hand to his earpiece. As slowly as he dared in risk of being caught, he carefully peeked through the branches of the tree that he was hiding in. The last thing that he wanted was to botch up yet another attempt at catching the two they were after. They had been chasing them for over an hour already. They would have had it done earlier too if a certain loudmouth teammate of theirs didn't give them away each time… "Hinata has just confirmed the targets' location and we're in position," he spoke once again into his headset. "Should we go after them?"

"No, not yet. They still expect an ambush," Kakashi's voice replied. From where he was positioned, Shikamaru could spot his new sensei farther down the trail with speaking into his own microphone. He let out a sigh though when he saw that his back was still toward their targets and he had once again become engrossed with his "novel". "Wait a little longer. They should let their guard down any second now. Hinata, where is your current position?" Still, he sounded at least like he knew what he was doing. After their bell test though, Shikamaru made sure to not underestimate his sensei again…which had proved difficult even only after three weeks since he and his teammates had been taken under his wing. "Hinata, what is your position?" Kakashi asked, taking his eyes off of his book for only a moment as he looked back towards the direction where his students were positioned.

"I'm right above them. They haven't noticed me so far, I'm in a good position," she responded in only a whisper. No doubt she was only making sure that their targets didn't hear her, but a whisper from Hinata was practically inaudible. Still, Shikamaru had been able to finally convince her to drop the "san" honorific from his name. She was an easy person to get along with, that's for sure. If she wasn't so shy, she maybe could have been actually pretty popular with her cheerful attitude and friendly disposition.

"And Naruto?"

"Why can't we just get this over with already?" Naruto asked with an overly loud groan that threatened to give away his position once again. "This is so stupid…" Shikamaru sighed as he shook his head for what felt like the fifth time that morning. Out of all of the new comrades on his team, Naruto was perhaps the one that took the most to adjust to. Admittedly, Shikamaru hadn't been too keen on being on the same team as him. He had a tendency of being loud which more often than not interrupted his naps. Still, it was hard not to like the kid. He had a kind of innocence that Shikamaru couldn't quite explain. Not to mention his fierce determination to become stronger resulted in Shikamaru feeling a little bit of respect for his new teammate. Still, he supposed that accepting the good and the bad were just part of being a team.

"This is our mission Naruto, and we'll follow through with it," Kakashi said sighing. "That's what we ninja do…"

"Well, I think I have a good shot at getting them. I'm going in!" the blond responded.

"No! Wait until my orders!"

"Wait, Naruto-kun! It's a trap!"

"How troublesome…"

Naruto sprung out of his hiding spot and charged the two he was after. "I'm going to get you two no matter what the stories say!" Naruto yelled. Before he even took three steps though, his face met with a clump of dirt. He took a step back and wiped the brown of his face, but was not able to successfully get the mess out of his hair. As if that wasn't bad enough, he was hit again by another dirt clod that smacked him dead between the eyes, making him yelp in pain.

"Keep firing!" a high pitch voice yelled.

Naruto staggered as mud pie after mud pie collided into him and pushed him back. The relentless attack was not letting up. The blonde tried to shield his face and attempt another approach but he ended up slipping onto his rear.

"Hey! Stop it before I-gramph." The end of Naruto's sentence was lost as a well placed shot went straight into his mouth, making him gag. He was now on his butt and every time he tried to get up, he was immediately knocked back down by another mud pie. The only thing he could do now was shield his face and wait for the onslaught to end. Fortunately for him, it didn't last that long.

"We got him good!" the same high pitch voice yelled.

"Ninja my butt! This guy is a stupid head!" another yelled.

"Hey! You said butt!"

The two children, no more than six years of age, burst into laughter as they collapsed to the ground. By the time the two were done laughing, they were completely exhausted and just sat down motionless.

"I'm tired," one of the boys said to the other beside him. "And hungry."

"Me too. Maybe Mom can make us her special rice balls!" the other said as he jumped up in the air.

"Yeah! Let's get home," the other said as they both turned around and left the park, leaving Naruto behind in a crumpled and dirty mess.

"Mission accomplished," Kakashi said as he suddenly appeared next to Naruto, his favorite book still held open in his hands.

"Finally," Shikamaru said walking out from behind a bush yawning with a stretch.

Kakashi laughed at his other student as he watched Naruto avoid both of their eyes and hastily attempted to dust himself off. For the most part, this had been their most difficult mission to date since the four of them had started completing missions together. Each of them would be completed with relative ease and also gave Kakashi plenty of time to himself to read his book. Most of the time, the three Genin didn't even need him to be around at all. It was a Jonin's duty to watch over his or her students though...and he had to admit that watching the three grow more and more attached with each other and build their teamwork had been quite rewarding to witness.

Although, he had to admit that there was another reason that he always needed to be close by his team during their missions. He was perfectly aware of every single angry and hateful glare that Naruto received from many of their customers. After taking a closer look at Naruto afterwards, something also told him that Naruto noticed them as well, but decided to remain quite about them instead. Kakashi was pretty sure that many of the villagers would turn the three Genin away in a moment's notice if it wasn't for Kakashi looming just behind the young shinobi. As of yet, there hadn't been any trouble. He only hoped that it would stay like that.

Hinata jumped off a branch above Naruto and kneeled beside him in worry. "Are you okay Naruto?" she asked with a slightly worried expression on her face.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly back. His entire face was covered in mud and his once orange jumpsuit was now more brown than orange. Not even his teeth had escaped the mud barrage. "Um, it was all a part of my plan Hinata-chan," Naruto said thinking fast. "You know, a ninja has to sacrifice his own safety for the success of the mission, right?"

Kakashi and Shikamaru simultaneously let out a sigh, making the Kyuubi carrier blush angrily.

"Hey, I completed the mission, didn't I?!"

"Yeah, yeah, we know. Like you said, it all worked out," Shikamaru shrugged. It wasn't like he could complain how the mission had ended. In the end he hadn't needed to do much, which suited him just fine. One of the actual upsides of being on the same squad as Naruto, he often wanted to do things himself, for better or for worse. He then turned to Kakashi. "Can we go home now? We've already done three of these missions today."

"Not yet, we still have to report the mission's completion to the Hokage," Kakashi explained lazily. "But…" he said looking down at the blonde, trying to pluck off as much mud from his hair as possible. "I guess we could stop by Naruto's house first. Just so he can at least change his clothes."

* * *

If there was one thing Sarutobi hated most, it was paperwork. Almost robotically, the elderly man took the paper that Iruka handed to him and stamped it without even reading a single word of the document. Though such actions would usually be looked down upon for one such as the Hokage, he had managed to get away with most of them up until now. In his younger days, _he_ was the one going out on missions, not handing them out. But things had changed a lot since he was younger.

"Hey old man!" a voice rang through the whole building. Naruto walked into the room loudly, followed closely by his squad members. The Sanidame sighed audibly and looked up to the blonde that had just walked in, who looked as if he had been rolling around in a dirt pile all morning. His face still had smudges everywhere and his hair was a mix of blonde, dirt, and grass. The only thing that was really clean was his clothes. The boy flashed a smile over to the Chunin next to the Hokage, who returned the gesture. "Hey, do you have any _real_ ninja missions? I mean one that we would actually get something out of?" the blonde said returning his attention back to the Hokage.

_A lot of things have changed_, the old man thought at the table, eyeing the boy. _Yet at the same time, they feel so familiar..._

"Ah, yes Kakashi," Sarutobi said taking another paper from Iruka and ignoring Naruto, making no indication of what had just passed through his mind. "The woman that had been looking for her children had just arrived about ten minutes ago. She wanted me to thank you for not harming her children and getting them back on time."

"It wasn't a problem," Kakashi said with the courtesy he only showed toward the Hokage himself.

"Now then, for your team's next mission…Iruka?"

"Yes Hokage-sama," the scarred Chunin said respectfully and handing over the paper.

"Let's see…Well, some dishes need to be washed in a restaurant downtown, or perhaps you would like to go to the park and pick up some trash that has been scattered by some hooligans?"

"We'll take the dishwashing one," Kakashi said nodding. He really didn't care either way. The missions didn't really require any assistance from him, giving him more time for his por…uh, novel.

"There's no way, you old coot!"

Everyone in the room turned to Naruto, who had stomped his foot stubbornly and raised his fist at the Hokage. While the younger citizens and shinobi in the room looked at Naruto with agape mouths in shock, many more of the older ones' glares intensified even more toward the blue eyed blonde in the center of the room in front of the Hokage.

"I'm tired of all this stinkin' community service! I mean come on, we're ninjas now, we're too old to do all this junk!" Naruto continued.

"Shut up, Naruto," Shikamaru said, looking around at all the glares that they were getting. Personally, he almost liked the D-ranked missions. They were easy, didn't require much physical activity, and sometimes even gave him some time to sleep if he was sneaky enough. Now this idiot was going to ruin it for him. Also, he was slightly intimidated at just how piercing the stares toward them were. Or perhaps more precisely, toward Naruto. He supposed that his teammate had just developed an unpopular reputation due to all of his pranks.

"How dare you speak to the Hokage like that?" Iruka yelled as he rose to his feet and slapped the desk in front of him. "You have no right whatsoever! You are a Genin, so you will be doing the missions that you are assigned."

"But Iruka-sensei…" Naruto complained.

"Naruto, you need to understand. Every single day we are given hundreds of notices which spread to walking dogs to assassination missions. The missions are then separated into four groups, A, B, C, and D-rank. You Genin are typically assigned to D-ranked missions, keeping you out of danger. Every now and again, a Genin team is assigned a C-ranked mission, but only if they are considered ready. When you move up to Chunin, more missions will be open to you, including B-ranked. But for the time being, you will be sticking with the ones you are assigned now."

"Hey guys, did I tell how I kicked Sasuke's butt one time? It was awesome, he was doing all kinds of fire jutsus and stuff, but then I came back at him and…"

"Hey, you ungrateful brat! I'm trying to talk to you here!" the Hokage yelled, surprising many in the room at the elderly man's suddenly anger.

"Well, why the heck do I have to listen for anyway?" Naruto asked pointing at Sarutobi. "I hate all these stupid kiddy missions. I'm not the same Naruto that was painting stuff on the Hokages' faces anymore. I'm a ninja now and I want a _real_ mission!"

With that said Naruto spun around and crossed his arms, looking away from the two men at the desk. If Naruto hadn't turned away, he probably would have been surprised to see that the two he had just yelled at were smiling instead of fuming. Iruka was partially proud that Naruto was admitting (partly) that he was wrong in the past with all of his tricks. Sarutobi however, had just had a fleeting memory where another blonde haired boy in the past had yelled at him for giving him so many D-ranked missions. After that, he had given the boy and his team their first C-rank mission. And now that he thought about it, Naruto had gone through even more D-ranked missions than the previous one. Sure, Naruto wasn't as experienced, but he had the same determination.

"Alright then," the elder ninja said, catching them all by surprise. "I will give you a C-ranked mission. But only this once."

"Alright!" Naruto yelled pumping his fist into the air. "I swear, you won't regret this old man! Did you hear that Hinata? Our first mission!"

"Yeah," she said nodding, though the same unsure expression that she was known for still shone on her face. "But, do you think we can handle it?"

"Ah, don't worry," Naruto said waving his hand at her. "If we get into trouble, I'll rescue everybody."

"Great. A C-rank mission. How troublesome…" Shikamaru said closing his eyes and looking away with a sigh. There went his nap time…

"Now, Izumo, could you please send our guest in?" the Sanidaime asked the Chunin behind the group.

All four ninja turned around as the door slid open. A man that looked to be in his mid fifties walked into the room with a bottle of liquor in his hand. His skin was tanned skin suggested that he worked often out in the sun. He peered across the room with his beady eyes, though they looked slightly far off and dizzy as he entered the room. He looked more like a beggar than anything else as he stumbled forward.

"Are these the ninja I'm getting?" he asked the Hokage as he eyed the three Genin. "A bunch of children? I've seen stronger looking kids in my home town, and we don't even have a ninja academy. And that blond right there looks like he just got out of the nursery school."

Naruto looked left and right, trying to find the blonde that the man had been talking about. Then a patch of hair went in front of his eyes. He was blonde! "Let me at him!" Naruto yelled as Kakashi grabbed his orange jumpsuit and held him back. "I'll make him regret saying that about me! I'll kill him!"

"You're not supposed to kill the client," Kakashi said pulling the blonde down to the ground. "Well, not usually of course."

"Well, at least you look competent," the beggar man said to Kakashi, seeming to size him up. "Is it your job to baby sit these kids?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Kakashi said as his visible eye curved upwards to a smile. "But you do not have to worry of having a lack of ability for your request. I'm a Jonin, an elite ninja. While I'm around, you'll have nothing to worry about."

"Well, I feel a lot better knowing that someone that actually possesses some skill is coming. By the way, the name's Tazuna," the man said approaching and holding out his hand for Kakashi to shake.

"Hatake Kakashi. It's a pleasure," their sensei responded lazily, but shook the man's hand nonetheless. "These are my students, Hinata, Shikamaru, and of course you've met Naruto."

Naruto let out an 'humph' before he turned away from the man and looked out the window.

"Well, on to business. I'm not paying you guys to just talk to me. I'm from Wave Country, and I want you to escort me back," Tazuna said. "All I need is protection from bandits and the lot, that's it."

"So you mean there shouldn't be situations where my team will not be able to take care of themselves, correct?" Kakashi asked the man while squinting his single visible eye.

"...Of course," Tazuna said nervously, clearing his throat in the process.

For a moment, Kakashi studied the man another moment. Finally, he just figured that his nervousness was only sparked by his own intimidating attitude. "Well, how about it?" Kakashi asked, turning to his students. "Want to take on the mission?"

"Well, this guy seems to be a real pain in the ass, but as long as I am on an actual ninja mission, I don't care," Naruto said, ignoring the icy stare Tazuna was giving him.

"I'd rather sit this one out," Shikamaru said. "No offence, but Wave Country is pretty far off. Too troublesome if you ask me."

"And Hinata?" their sensei asked. "What would you like to do?"

"I-I want to us to t-take the mission," Hinata said, turning to Naruto with a small blush. She was nervous, that was sure, but if Naruto wanted to go, she'll stick by him.

"Sorry Shikamaru," Kakashi said shrugging. "Two beats one."

"How troublesome," Shikamaru said with a groan, though it wasn't as if he expected otherwise from Hinata.

"Well I apologize for not being able to protect myself," Tazuna said snidely which Shikamaru decided to ignore. "So anyway, I've been spending too much time in this village, so I'd like to head out at noon tomorrow."

"Fine with me, how about everybody else?" Kakashi asked.

"Whatever," Shikamaru said.

"I can make it."

"I wonder if Ichiraku Ramen is having a special tonight…"

* * *

"Alright! My first real mission as an actual ninja!" Naruto yelled pumping his fist in the air. "I'll take on anybody who thinks they can outmatch the great Uzumaki Naruto! I'll show them all!"

"You sure are really excited about this mission, Naruto-kun," Hinata said giggling as she watched her secret crush dart around happily at the Konoha Gates.

"Well, yeah!" Naruto responded, halting and thumping his chest with his right hand enthusiastically. "This is the first time I've ever been outside of the village. I feel just like an explorer or something."

"I'm not paying you kids to play adventure," Tazuna grumbled from behind the two Genin. Both Naruto and Hinata had been assigned to escort him to the gates that morning, forcing them to wake up earlier than the other two members of their squad. Something told Naruto that Shikamaru had somehow struck some kind of deal with Kakashi to get him off duty. "You're protecting me, not going on some fieldtrip."

"W-we're sorry Tazuna-san," Hinata said bowing, almost seeming to be distressed that she had upset him so much. "We'll try and be more serious about this from now on."

"Ah, now you're making me feel guilty after being so sweet to me," Tazuna said with a slight tint of red on his face after hearing the young girl's sincere apology. "I guess that my old age is getting the best of me. I'm not used to people treating me with respect anymore nowadays. Kind of makes an old man grow sour."

"Like you deserve any anyways."

"Cool down, Naruto," Shikamaru said exiting the Kohona Village Gate. "I could hear your shouting a block away."

"You're late, just where the hell have you been?!" Naruto yelled pointing at the Nara boy.

"Relax, I just had to let the deer out and then I stopped by Choji's house to say goodbye. Don't get all worked up," Shikamaru said dropping his pack to the ground and sitting at the base of a tree. "Just make sure to wake me when Kakashi-sensei gets here."

"Shouldn't you stay awake and wait for your sensei?" Tazuna asked as he watched Shikamaru position his back behind him to use as a pillow.

"Kakashi-sensei is always late," Naruto explained. "He's almost as lazy as Shikamaru over there." Shikamaru had developed a new strategy to deal with Naruto's insults. The blonde only kept on insulting if someone argued back at him. So what was the answer? Don't respond.

The four of them then became quite for the next twenty minutes. Hinata and Naruto were passing their time by playing slug, toad, snake (Naruto style rock, paper, scissors) while Tazuna and Shikamaru every now and again spoke to each other. In order to break the awkward silence between the two, Tazuna decided to strike up a conversation since the young boy didn't seem to be planning on starting one up himself anytime soon.

"So, just how skilled are you and your teammates?" Tazuna asked, attempting to sound as if the question didn't really matter. "You all seem pretty young for ninja."

"Actually, we just got out of the ninja academy of our village," Shikamaru said opening one of his eyes and looking at the man. "We're Genin, rookie ninja. There are four levels: Genin, Chunin, Jonin, and the highest is Kage, all in order. There are a couple other ranks here and there, but those are mostly the basis of how our system is set up. We shouldn't be becoming Chunin for a while. Not until we've been through more missions and done some more advance training"

"So what you're saying is that your team doesn't have that much experience…" Tazuna said as small beads of sweat began to roll down his face.

"Yeah. At least that principle applies to me, Hinata, and Naruto. And to tell you the truth, we're not really what you'd call the prodigies of the academy," Shikamaru continued. When he saw the blank stare from Tazuna, he went on. "Hinata was the shyest girl in our school and her confidence is the size of the tip of my kunai. I'm the laziest kid in the school, I hardly ever get through a test or lesson without dozing off and falling asleep. And Naruto was one of the worst ninja in the academy. All he could really do was fight, and he was still only average at it. He didn't even graduate at first, but then he beat some Chunin that was trying to take over the village or something stupid like that and Iruka-sensei let him graduate."

"Why does it not surprise me that that boy is the worst student?" Tazuna asked sarcastically, looking over at Naruto.

"...He wasn't really the worst. Iruka-sensei really liked him, actually," Shikamaru said. He then slapped himself on the forehead when he realized he was defending Naruto. The kid must be growing on him more than he had originally thought.

"Well worst student or not, I still think that kid is a little too big for his britches," Tazuna said nodding. Shikamaru chuckled silently. Old man trash talk…

"Hey ya," Kakashi said walking out of the village gates, finally making his appearance. "Sorry I'm late. A barrel of fruit fell on the path and instead of smashing them or wasting my chakra by jumping over them, I took the long way. Have to make sure I'm in peak condition and that I don't ruin everyone's produce."

"Well, we can't do anything that we can't help," Tazuna said looking at Shikamaru. The boy just sighed, realizing that Tazuna was unaware of Kakashi's reputation of always making excuses when he was late and not knowing the actual amount of chakra it takes to make such a small jump.

"Can we get going already?" Naruto asked with an edge of excitement to his voice.

"Yes, we are running a bit late aren't we?" Kakashi asked looking up at the sun as if he could tell what time it was just by looking at, which in fact he could.

"What do you mean 'we're' running late?" Naruto yelled, annoyed that his sensei was trying to place part of the blame on all of them.

"Let's just get going," Shikamaru said picking up his pack and standing with the rest of the group. The other three in the group followed after him and began walking down the road.

* * *

"This is so booooring!" Naruto yelled to the sky. The first day had passed by uneventful, much to Naruto's disappointment, and they were almost halfway through the second day now. He was beginning to worry that the mission would just be one long hike.

"Mmm," Shikamaru responded with his eyes now open, but only half paying attention to what Naruto was talking about. For the last day Shikamaru had been traveling with his eyes closed, but had finally decided to open them. Naruto was pretty sure during that time that Shikamaru had cast a sleep walking jutsu on himself the previous day. He knew that if anyone would be able to master that sort of jutsu, it was his teammate.

"Well Shikamaru, if you're so bored, why don't you go and scout ahead for a little while?" Kakashi suggested as he walked up beside his student with his hands inside of his pockets.

"Sure, why not?" the lazy Genin replied before jogging ahead of them down the path.

"Alright, have you guessed yet Hinata?" Naruto asked. The girl looked around some more, trying to find what Naruto had instructed her to find. Hinata looked back at him and saw his eyes unwillingly go toward a large tree. Hinata took advantage of this and looked in that direction. On top of the tree was a red robin, chirping merrily.

"It's that bird," Hinata said smiling.

"Ah man! I thought I had you there! And if we had only gone a couple more feet…" Naruto said pouting childishly. Hinata giggled silently at the playful blonde, pushing her index fingers together. "Well, I guess it's your turn now."

"Um, okay then," Hinata said, looking around, first to the sky, then to the trees, then to the others. Finally she smiled slyly (very un-Hinata like) and turned to Naruto. "I spy with my ninja eyes something blue."

"Oh that's easy! The sky," Naruto said pointing upward.

"Nope," Hinata said shaking her head.

The blonde looked at her in confusion and then again began to turn his head around, wondering what else around them was blue. "Oh wait, I know. It's that puddle that we just passed a couple moments ago," he said jabbing his thumb over his shoulder.

"It wasn't that either," Hinata said shaking her head even more. "Now you only have one more chance."

Naruto closed his eyes and put his hand to his chin, thinking hard. Finally, he snapped his fingers and grabbed his headband with one hand and pointed at Hinata's that she wore around her forehead. "It's the hitae-ate, isn't it?" he asked hopefully.

"No, you're wrong," Hinata said with a smile.

"Then what the heck is it?" he asked in frustration.

"You're eyes," she said pointing at him with a giggle.

"Cheater!" Naruto yelled punching her lightly on the shoulder. "That is such a cheap trick! I never thought that you would be clever enough to do that, Hinata. That's like me saying that I spy something white…" He stopped after Hinata flinch from the comment. Naruto could have punched himself. He had opened up a few too many wounds inside of Hinata. He was all too aware that he wasn't the only one that was judged merely by what he was. Not to mention that Hinata had to deal with prejudgments from within and without her own family. "I'm really sorry that I said that Hinata," Naruto said bowing his head. "I know how though it is for you being…"

"No Naruto, it's alright," Hinata said reassuring him, though the mere statement still caused her to doubt her ability and her efficiency of being of use in her clan. "Why…can't I be strong like all of them? Why can't I be like Neji-sama or Hizashi-sama? They're strong, how come I'm not?"

"Hey don't you start talking like that!" Naruto yelled sternly, surprising Hinata and making Tazuna nearly jump out of his skin in fear that they were being attacked. "You're one of the strongest people I know! Those guys in your clan are such jerks to you and you still call them your family! You even say that you love them. If you ask me, you should be teaching them a thing or two, not the other way around."

"But…" Hinata said looking to the ground as her face began to steadily grow more and more red. "I'm…I'm definitely not as strong as you are."

"I'm strong?" Naruto asked. He wasn't used to someone giving him a complement.

"Yeah," the Hyuuga girl said shyly, mustering up all of her courage and hardly believing what she was doing. "You are much stronger than I'd ever hope to be. For reasons that no one has ever explained to us, all the adults in the village hate you, and their hatred is then passed down to their children…to us. Your village practically despises you, but you still swear to protect it with all your heart, no matter what. And…" she said turning an even more deep shade of scarlet and pushing her two fingers together, "that is why I really look up to you. That's why I-I r-really l-li-"

The two were interrupted by Tazuna's panicked shout from behind them. Both Genin spun around and gasped in horror to see two masked ninjas that had wrapped their sensei with a chain that connected the two's metal claws together from the wrist. With a grunt, they both pulled on the chains and tore Kakashi into ribbons.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled, feeling bile begin to slide up his throat. One of the ninja's eyes immediately went to Naruto, eyeing him as like a wolf that had just found its prey.

"One down," he said as they both set their sights to Naruto. The blonde could only take a step back in fear from the men's advance. His mind was completely blank. His ninja senses were yelling at him to fight, but his body wouldn't listen. It didn't pay attention to the other side of him that was telling him to run for his life, but for some reason, he could not react to that either. All he could do was watch the two ninjas continue their way toward him. One's eyes opened wide as he drew back his claw to drive it straight into Naruto's chest, but right as he was about to, a kunai came out of nowhere and stuck into his arm, causing him to howl in pain.

"What the…" the other ninja sputtered, looking at the direction that the kunai had been thrown.

Hinata still had her arm outstretched from when she had thrown the kunai. She then took out five shuriken and threw them all one by one at the two ninjas. Forced to change their paths, the two simultaneously jumped into the air, easily dodging her attacks.

"You don't really think some little brat like you can beat us, do you?" one of the brothers laughed as they landed back on the ground and charged at Hinata.

_I won't let them hurt Naruto-kun,_ was Hinata's only thought. She went into her gentle fist stance and activated her Byakugan, simultaneously giving her better sight and making her enemies a little uneasy by the fierce look in her eyes. But their nervousness was short and they decided to go after her despite the change. She began channeling more chakra into her arms, but stopped when she saw Naruto appear from the side of the ninjas and punched one straight in the jaw, causing the other to be pulled along also.

"Naruto-kun?" she asked, looking at the blonde that had been frozen in his place only a second ago. He was breathing deeply and still shaking in fear, but other than that he seemed perfectly fine.

"Couldn't let you have all the fun, now could I?" he asked with a fox like grin, and then turned back to the Demon Brothers with a confident smile on his face. Actually, he was scared out of his mind at the two ninja who had just torn his sensei apart like he was paper. But Hinata had put her own life in jeopardy to save his. He wouldn't have been able to live with himself if Hinata had gotten hurt. He and Hinata both pulled out a kunai from their kunai holsters on their legs and prepared once again to fight.

The brothers' eyes were not on the two Genin though. They had switched to Tazuna, who was standing alone in the middle of the road.

"The bridge builder!" they yelled together and both changed directions.

"Mr. Tazuna!" Hinata yelled, knowing that she could do nothing to protect him now. The two Kiri Chunin drew back their gloves once again as their second target could only look on in horror.

"Kagemane no Jutsu!"

One of the brothers halted in their spot as if his feet had been nailed to the ground. He grunted as if he was struggling with something, but then dove forward and grabbed the chain that connected the two, halting his brother.

"What are you doing?" the other asked, trying to pull himself free. "Get a hold of yourself."

"I can't…"

"Why the hell not?!"

"You looking for me?" a voice came from the side of the road. It was only then that everyone noticed Shikamaru, holding an imaginary chain in a similar, no, exact way the brother was. Both Chunin looked down and cursed when they saw the shadow that bound one of them.

"Cut the bind!" the trapped shinobi yelled, to which his brother immediately complied. Now freed, the other brother continued his path to Tazuna, and this time there were no more Genin to save the old geezer. Suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a blur of silver. The Kiri ninja felt as if he hit a solid wall when his neck came into contact with an arm. With one last groan, his body became limp.

"I don't think so," the silver haired Jonin said to the unconscious ninja at his feet.

"Kakashi-sensei! You're alive!" Naruto yelled in both shock and joy.

"But…how?" the still conscious and captured Kiri nin asked in fury.

"Kawarimi no Jutsu," Kakashi said jabbing his thumb over his shoulder and walking to the second Demon Brother at the same time. Everyone looked over and saw that instead of limbs where Kakashi had been "killed", there were only splinters of wood.

"Don't worry, Shikamaru," Kakashi said to his student. "This guy's no longer a threat. You can let him go now." As soon as the shadow retracted from the Kiri nin, Kakashi swiftly struck the man in the side of the neck, successfully knocking him out. "Thanks for stopping him, Shikamaru."

"No problem," Shikamaru said, standing once again back to his full height and walking over to his two fellow Genin, who were staring at him incredulously.

"Hey," he said simply as he joined Hinata and Naruto.

"What the heck have you been doing this whole time?!" Naruto yelled pointing at Shikamaru.

"Saving your sorry behind," Shikamaru sighed. "For someone that I just did a favor for, you sure are acting troublesome…Your welcome by the way."

"Hinata, Shikamaru, Naruto!" Kakashi shouted. Their teacher had slung both ninjas over his shoulder and was looking at the Genin with, to their surprise, pride. "Excellent work! You guys did great. Although you were kind of slow for a moment there, Naruto," Kakashi said laughing.

"Ah, they just caught me off guard, that's all!" Naruto said crossing his arms and laughing to the sky.

"Sure, just help me tie these two up, okay? Shikamaru, can you give us a hand too?" Kakashi asked, setting their attackers beside a tree.

Shikamaru and Naruto obeyed and soon the two Chunin were tied up. A couple more minutes later, they awakened and stared at their situation in disgust. Their gloves had been taken away and their hands had been bound so they couldn't use any jutsus. What was more was that they were tied up to a tree.

"These two are Kiri ninja. About Chunin level if I'm not mistaken," Kakashi said looking down at the two. "Kind of interesting that they showed up here…"

"How did you know about our ambush?" one demanded with a sneer.

"A puddle in the middle of summer? When it hasn't rained in two weeks? It was totally obvious. Not to mention that your henge was pathetic," Kakashi said turning his head so that his visible eye was looking down at them from and angle. "Shikamaru also noticed it, which was why I sent him up ahead to 'scout'."

"You knew?" Naruto asked, looking over at him in disbelief.

"It really wasn't that hard to figure out," Shikamaru said, with a shrug and looking away. For a second, a laugh nearly escaped Naruto. Was Shikamaru actually embarrassed about his accomplishment? Now that was entertaining.

"So?" Kakashi asked turning back to the Demon Brothers. "Are you two going to tell us why you attacked us?"

"Go to hell!" a brother said savagely.

"Then how about I ask someone else?" Kakashi said, now looking over to Tazuna. The tanned man took a step back, suddenly realizing that his cover had just been completely blown.

"Me?" the elder man said pointing at himself.

"Yes, you. These ninjas specialize in assassination. My students are too young to be of any threat to their village, so the only one of us four who they could have been after would have been me. Yet even after they 'took care' of me, they continued their assault. Not only that, but in the middle of their fight, they decided to go after you instead of my two students. Kind of odd, don't you think?" Kakashi ask, narrowing his eye. "You knew we would be attacked, didn't you?"

"...You've got to understand," Tazuna said, acting much more humble than he had before. "I didn't have enough money to buy a higher ranking team, it was impossible. I had no other choice but-"

"You are willing to put children into danger for the sake of your own life. If we had known the specifics of this mission, it would have been ranked either a B or even an A-ranked mission. As an instructor Jonin, it is my duty to know if my students are out of their league or not, as they are in this case."

"Please," Tazuna pleaded, dropping to his knees. "I need protection. It is for the sake of my country!"

"If the Hokage is feeling generous, perhaps he'll give you a more suitable team for this mission," Kakashi said coolly, not even looking over at Tazuna.

"I'm sorry," Hinata said to their client, "but we've only just left the academy. This is kind of out of our league…"

"Hinata's right. This mission is over, we're going back. This team isn't ready for a mission like this yet," Kakashi said looking at Tazuna in the eye, to show that the elder man had no choice in the matter.

"Bull!" Everybody turned to the blonde that had just made the outburst. He was standing defiantly against Kakashi, raising his fist. "You say that this mission is beneath us, but we just kicked the crap out of these two losers like it was nothing!" Naruto continued. "Besides, what kind of ninja would we be if we just stopped in the middle of a freakin' mission anyways?"

"Naruto, although your confidence is…admirable, I will not allow you three to put your lives into danger with such little experience," Kakashi said, though he now sounded more stern than cold at the moment while speaking to Naruto.

"But isn't that what being a shinobi all about?" Naruto asked. "To put your own life on the line to protect those of others...and I'll tell you one thing Kakashi-sensei, I'm a ninja now and I'm sticking to that code. And no matter how much of a pain in the ass this old geezer is, he needs help, and I'm going to give it to him!"

"...I agree with Naruto," Hinata said this time, not surprising Kakashi that she supported the blonde. "I also want to go because…my family has always called me weak, that I couldn't do anything right. If I take on this mission, I can finally prove them wrong. I can also prove it to myself… So I want to keep going."

"Me too."

All three other ninja stared in shock at Shikamaru at what he had just said. A drop of sweat dropped from the back of Shikamaru's head as he looked at each of them.

"What?" he asked.

"Are you feeling sick, Shikamaru?" Hinata asked in concern. "Have you been drinking plenty of water?"

"Yeah, since when do you ever want to do anything physical?" Naruto asked. "Aren't you the guy who doesn't like picking up pencils to take tests because it's too 'troublesome'?"

"Well…" Shikamaru said closing his eyes. The truth was that he was concerned for his other teammates. They had both nearly lost their lives a couple minutes ago, and the only thing he could do was trust Kakashi to save them in the end and protect Tazuna. And…although he was lazy, he was also loyal. He now saw his new teammates as close friends, almost as much as he viewed Choji as one. He was on a team, and he was going to make sure he kept them.

"My dad knows Ino's dad," Shikamaru stated, thinking of the best lie he could think of. "He's bound to get drunk sometime and tell him that I left the mission. Then he'll go and tell Ino and I'd have another pain in the neck on my hands. Trust me. I'd take an A-ranked mission before an annoying Ino any day."

Kakashi shook his head at his team, disagreeing completely. But deep down, he was proud of his squad. They had courage to stick by each other to the end, and to complete a job when they started. And although he was a Jonin, he didn't feel like dragging home three upset teenagers back to Kohona. He wouldn't have a moment of peace to read his book the entire time.

"This is a dangerous mission," Kakashi warned them. "You three are new and are barely ready to take on a C-rank mission in the first place. You really think you can see this one through to the end?"

"Just watch us! We'll kick any enemy ninja's ass as soon as they come within ten feet of us!" Naruto yelled enthusiastically. Shikamaru and Hinata nodded in agreement, though they would have chosen a different set of words.

"...Well then Tazuna," Kakashi said turning to the other man. "We'll take you to the dock to get to the Land of Waves. Just know that when we finally get there, you've got some explaining to take care of."

"Of course," Tazuna said sighing in relief. "Thank you…thank you so very much." That was a close shave…

"Alright then," Kakashi said turning to Team Seven. "You four should move on ahead, I've got some things to say to these two ninja," he said turning to the Demon Brothers who were still tied to the tree. Suddenly, the two tied to the tree stopped their squirming and looked up at Kakahsi, their eyes suddenly filled with fear. Without question, Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru nodded and walked down the path with Tazuna, not looking back to Kakashi.

"Hey kid," Tazuna said tapping Naruto on the back. The blonde looked over his shoulder and looked at the man. "I just wanted to say thanks for that. You just saved my skin," the man continued.

"Don't sweat it," Naruto said smiling back. "Anyways, I couldn't have done it without my team. Kakashi-sensei is pretty stubborn when he wants to be."

"Well…I still want to thank you," Tazuna said with a grin. "But you're still an annoying brat."

"And you're a cranky old geezer," Naruto said without dropping his smile before turning his head back to the road and folding his arms behind his head.

Tazuna laughed and shook his head at the comment. He really did owe that kid a lot. If he lived through the experience, he vowed that he would do something for the kid…

* * *

_Chapter 4...COMPLETE! Thank you for reading loyal readers. Remember, I'm still accepting ideas for jutsus in my fic. Anything will do, I've only gotten one so far and I could use more...please? _

_By the way, forgive me for that crappy part about Naruto and Hinata talking about her family. I just put it in there to show how she felt about being a Hyuuga and how the family treats her. So again, sorry. It wasn't really intended to be a Naru/Hina moment anyways. So until next time fellow writers and readers!_

_GAZ_


	5. Lakeside Battle: Part 1

_Hello readers, and once again thank you for taking the time to read (and hopefully review…I like reviews…) my story. Thanks for all the reviews you guys are sending me. I love them, I really do. So anyways…it's time to get into the real action of the Wave Country, Team Seven's first confrontation with Zabuza! How will the new team fair this time against him …?_

_Edit note (6/17/09): Another heavily editted chapter. More than a few alterations to Zabuza's character, some added details here and there, and a completely different outcome in a conversation including Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru. I think it's much better this time around. Plus someone mentioned that I seem to not have a lot of Shikamaru/Hinata conversation going on (not as a pairing, don't worry Naru/Hina fans) between the two, so I put some of that in as well. It's good to see this chapter again, it brings back some good memories of when I started this story._

_Note: Just to clear everything up, in my story, Haku is a guy. And he's not gay, just really devoted to Zabuza. That is all._

* * *

"Welcome to Wave Country, in all its glory," the boat driver said sarcastically. The four ninja who were being addressed however didn't respond. It was hard to make any kind of prejudgment of the area, as they couldn't see a thing in the dense fog surrounding them. Konoha wasn't known for its foggy days. As such, Naruto couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable from his lack of vision. In his defense though, he might've not felt as uncomfortable if they weren't being hunted by enemy ninja.

The boat they were traveling in was small and without the use of its motor they moved at an unbearably slow rate. Naruto knew that it was for the sake of them not being caught by anyone, but that didn't mean that it still didn't bother him. He was beginning to contemplate following Shikamaru's lead. He had fallen asleep as soon as they entered the fog, telling them to wake him up when something actually happened.

"Hey, what's that?" Hinata asked breaking the silence, pointing over to their right. Everyone simultaneously looked over in the direction Hinata was pointing. A few moments passed as they continued to regard the large, dark landmass that was to their right. After a few moments, Naruto finally realized what it was, though he could hardly believe it. It was a bridge, the largest one he had ever seen in his entire life. Just saying that it was large was an understatement. This monster was gigantic.

"Look at that thing!" Naruto said in his amazement.

"Shut up, kid!" the boat driver whispered sternly. "We're trying to get by unnoticed, but we can't do that if you keep flapping your big mouth."

Naruto was about to snap back at the oarsman but Kakashi raised his hand to silence him, shaking his head at him to show that he agreed with the man. Naruto crossed his arms and legs and began to pout angrily, but Kakashi still smiled from behind his mask by the blonde's childishness.

"So, Tazuna," Kakashi said turning to the man beside him. "I fail to recall if you told us why those ninja were after you. I let you off easily after my students made their little speeches, but now we need to hear the whole story. If you keep quite, we'll just drop you off at the shore and have this man take us back while you continue on your own. Despite what these three younger ones said I won't hesitate to do just that if you don't give us information that may prove to be vital in the mission's success and our survival. How about we start with who exactly wants you dead?"

The man took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, as if he had a headache. "I guess I have no other choice in this situation," he said sighing. "That bridge you just saw a second ago, it's mine. I'm the bridge builder of this country. The reason that I'm building it is because a madman named Gatou is trying to take control of my village."

"Gatou?" Kakashi said, genuinely surprised. "You mean the Gatou from Gatou Incorporated? Why would a businessman want a bridge builder dead of all people?"

The man looked over at the halfway completed bridge, taking comfort and pride in what the bridge signified. "You all may know Gatou as a business man. But Wave Country knows him as a dictator, willing to sacrifice anything to get power. My country has gone into poverty because of Gatou, he threatens us with his goons and takes our money. Using his vast amount of resources, he controls the sea, which in turn makes him control the island where we live."

"Why haven't we heard of any of this back at Konoha? Holding an entire country hostage isn't something that goes overlooked," Kakashi said.

"Which only proves just how much influence Gatou has here," Tazuna explained solemnly. "He bribes anybody who figures it out with money, and then he threatens or kills anybody who threatens to get the word out. Gatou has complete control of the sea…but if we had a bridge, Gatou will lose his power and significance over us, and we'll be free. You must understand, if I die, there will be no one to take leadership of the bridge. That is why those ninja are after me. They were hired by Gatou to kill me before I made it back. Several men died getting me to Konoha in one piece… My village is too poor to afford a more suitable team for this kind of mission, so we went with the best thing we could afford. You have to understand I never wished to deceive you. I had no other choice…please believe me," Tazuna said, his last sentence making him sound as if he was pleading to them.

"Relax," Kakashi said. "My team has already agreed that we're taking your job, so don't get so anxious. The problem is that after we beat those two Chunin back on the trail, the next ones we will face will either be more powerful or in greater number. It depends on how much Gatou is paying. We need to be ready, the closer we get to the village, the closer to danger we are…"

"So we may be going up against Jonin level ninja?" Hinata asked.

"Quite possibly, yes," Kakashi said turning to her. "But don't worry. I am one of the most powerful Jonin in Kohona. If worse comes to worse, I'll be able to take care of things." Kakashi then turned back to the fog. In the back of his mind, he cursed it to the depths of Hades. This boat ride would be so much faster if he could just read his book… And there was something else too, something that had been tugging at the back of his mind. A kind of sense of foreboding that had appeared when the bridge had come into sight…

* * *

As Kakashi had suspected, two figures were standing on the half completed bridge in silence, watching the boat drift by quietly. The first of them was either a small man or a boy in his teens. His face was covered by a white mask, which only had two small slits where there were supposed to be eyes to peer through. His hair was pulled back which would give one the assumption that his hair was probably very long if he would let it down, but it was hard to tell.

The second man was tall, muscular, and his eyes burned with impassive ruthlessness. He didn't wear a shirt, though he had long, gray pants that stretched to his brown and white boots. A strap went over his muscular front body that held a giant sword on his back. Bandages covered his nose down to his neck to conceal his true appearance.

"The bridge builder is more reckless than I had first expected," the tall man said deeply as he sat with one arm on his knee, watching with expert eyes the boat that floated by below him and his companion. "Or perhaps he believes that if you wear a hitae-ate, someone has a right to be a known as a ninja. What a fool."

"But that man down there," the boy next to him said in a smooth and quiet voice. "Isn't that the Copy Nin of Konoha, Hatake Kakashi?"

"So it seems," the man said indifferently before casting a questioning stare at the boy beside him. "Why should it matter? Do you believe that he may be beyond my ability, Haku?"

"Of course not, Zabuza-san," Haku responded without even the smallest hint of fear in his voice. After being with him for so long, he was perfectly comfortable around the deadly missing nin. "I am merely stating that this will be more difficult than we had originally predicted…"

"Perhaps," Zabuza said standing at full height. "I will take care of them alone. Those Genin won't be any kind of threat. Once I take care of Kakashi, I'll kill the bridge builder and head back to Gatou. Keep watch over the battle. As unlikely as it is, I need you to step in if things get…out of hand."

"Yes, Zabuza-san," Haku said with a bow. "Just do not let your guard down."

"I will not be defeated by a man that must rely on other's jutsus to win his battles," Zabuza said as his body faded away with the surrounding mist.

Haku watched his master disappear from behind his mask expressionlessly. When he could no longer feel Zabuza's presence, he turned back to the group. The children in the boat were young, far too young for this kind of mission. Why are they still here? Had the Demon Brothers failed to track them in time before they left the forest? Surely they were not foolish enough to have children take on such a dangerous mission if they had survived the first attack…

Haku pulled his mask up to get a better look at the group. Kakashi was leaning back idly alongside a particularly lazy looking Genin that appeared to be fast asleep. The bridge builder was talking to the boatman nervously as he scanned the waters. Finally, Haku looked at the two remaining Konoha nins in the front. One was a short, blonde boy with a wide smile talking to a girl with short, blue hair next to him who was smiling and talking back.

"So, they are precious to each other," Haku said as he pulled down his mask once again. "If they wish to stay together longer, it would be best if they just abandoned the mission." With a simple hand sign, an ice mirror slowly materialized out of the air behind him. Turing around, the boy walked toward the wall and melded into it, his body became two dimensional as he finally pulled his other leg in. Just as it had appeared, the ice wall slowly faded into the mist along with the boy, leaving no trace of either he or his master ever being there.

* * *

"Listen up team," Kakashi said looking down at his students and stopping momentarily on the trail. They had been dropped off at the port a couple hours ago, and Tazuna had just announced that they were nearing his village. "As you already have realized, we may quite possibly be walking into a trap as we speak. If an enemy ninja shows up, you are to not engage him in battle and must follow my orders to the letter. Above all else, protect Tazuna at all costs. If I die, which is unlikely," he added quickly when his students paled slightly, "you are to get away as fast as you can. I don't want any of you throwing your lives away, got it?"

"Man, we already kicked those two Chunin's butt," Naruto said back. "Do you really think that we'll have so much trouble with another idiot from the same country?"

"I have little doubt," Kakashi said seriously. "Overconfidence has been the downfall of many shinobi. Never, under any circumstances, underestimate your enemy. Those two Chunin we defeated are testament to that lesson when they fought you three."

Getting the point, Naruto shut his mouth and stuffed his hands in his pockets in silence. With a reassuring smile closed eye smile that told the blonde he was not in trouble, Kakashi turned and again began to make his way down the road in front of the three Genin and their client.

Time began to pass in abhorrent slowness. Kakashi could tell that with each step his team took, the more apprehensive they became. This wasn't surprising; as it was the first time they had ever been in a situation where their lives were in danger. Luckily for them though, they had Naruto with them, who was able to lighten the mood just a tad bit. Or at least set their minds toward other subjects at the very least.

"So Shikamaru, how can you do all that shadow bendy stuff?" the blonde asked as they walked on.

"It's my family's jutsu, only we know how to use it. Most clans have an ability of some sort that is exclusive to their family, mine are shadow oriented jutsu. Ino's family also has their own special kind of jutsu also. She has the ability to go into your mind and do whatever she wants to you while she has possession over you," his teammate replied.

"Uh-oh. I think Sasuke is in more trouble than we had originally thought," Naruto said to Hinata before cracking up laughing.

"You don't think Ino would do that, do you?" she asked Shikamaru.

"I don't know anything about women," Shikamaru said impassively. "Besides that almost all of them are-"

"Troublesome," Naruto said, beating Shikamaru. "Yeah, yeah, we've heard it before. Do you ever say anything else than that? It really gets annoying!"

"So says the guy who runs around the village all the time yelling 'I'm going to be Hokage'," Shikamaru said looking at Naruto from the corner of his eye. "But hey, all the power to you if you can actually make it that far. As for me, I'll stick to being a standard ninja. I suppose that I wouldn't mind becoming a Jonin or anything, but I wouldn't be angry if I just stayed as a Chunin. I really can't see myself fighting some kind of S ranked missing nin and defeating him…"

"I don't think you give yourself enough credit, Shikamaru-kun," Hinata interjected. This kind of surprised Shikamaru, most of her complements were reserved for Naruto alone. "Even though we just left academy, Kakashi-sensei has taught us a lot of new stuff. And our teamwork is becoming really good too. I think if we just stick together, we'll be able to make through anything that comes our way. You should be a little more optimistic about our team. And about yourself too, Shikamaru-kun. You're really not as bad of a ninja you say you are."

"Yeah, and besides," Naruto said, throwing his arms around both Hinata and Shikamaru on both sides of him, "if we ever get into trouble, I'll be sure to be around to bust you guys out of trouble."

Shikamaru couldn't help but laugh at the two. "Whatever you two say. You two can be so childish sometimes…but I guess you're right. I suppose we've become a pretty good team so far."

"Yeah," Hinata said, nodding back. "And we'll continue to become stronger together."

"Get down!"

The three Genin immediately dropped to the ground, just barely dodging the giant sword that twirled over their heads. The blade felt so close that Naruto could swear that he had felt some of the metal from the sword brush his scalp before he completely dropped to the ground. The sword continued to fly and lodged itself into a tree in front of them, set firmly in place. Soon after, a man dropped from one of the trees and stood atop of the sword. He had his back to them, but he peered over his shoulder at the group. Well, this was partially true. His full attention wasn't on the children, or the bridge builder whose hat had fallen to the ground during the ambush, but on the Jonin in the front of the group.

"Hatake Kakashi, copy nin of Kohona…" the man said in a gruff and malicious voice.

"Hmm…and judging by that weapon of yours, I presume that you are Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Bloody Mist?" Kakashi responded back, grasping his hitae-ate that covered his left eye. This definitely was not good. He had expected to face strong opponent, but not one of the Seven Swordsman of Kirikagure. How did Gatou even hire this guy in the first place? Zabuza had supposedly gone into hiding after his failed attempt on the Mizukage's life. Now here he was, facing Kakashi in a stare off.

"Hey, Shikamaru," Naruto whispered nervously to the boy next to him but didn't take his eyes off of the man above them, "who the heck is this guy?"

"By how Kakashi-sensei is acting, I say he's bad news," Shikamaru said as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face. Shikamaru was the first to react. He drew out his kunai knife and got in front of Tazuna. Hinata and Naruto then followed suit and got on both Tazuna's left and right side.

"Oh look, your little Genin guinea pigs know the manji formation. I'm quaking in my sandals," Zabuza said with a sneer as he turned to fully face his opponent.

"Just make sure you keep your eyes on me and not my students," Kakashi said lifting up his headband. His eye was closed, but then it snapped open, revealing its red color and three coma marks it held. "Because both of mine are already locked onto you!"

"Kakashi-sensei! Wh-what's with your eye?" Naruto asked with a gaping mouth. "It's all…red!"

"It's called the Sharingan," Hinata said confidently, looking at Kakashi with a look of awe on her face. "It's a special ability that is exclusive to the Uchiha clan…"

"Like what Shikamaru was talking about?" Naruto questioned.

"Not exactly," Shikamaru said. "What we were talking about earlier was jutsus that were passed down through their respective clan. They really can be learned by anyone, but the clan keeps the technique's secrets a secret so only those within the clan are able to use it. The Sharingan is a bloodline limit. It cannot be learned. It's in your blood, the Uchiha blood to be precise. There are other types of kekae genkai also, such as Hinata's Byakugan."

"The Sharingan has the ability to copy an enemy's jutsus," Hinata said, taking place where Shikamaru left off. "There are many more abilities that can be learned, but they can only be achieved over time and training."

"You're kids are educated, I'll give you that Kakashi," the man said, still eyeing them from his branch. "But even with some basic knowledge of ninjutsu, there is no way those weaklings can be called shinobi."

"Then just ignore them and I'll fight you alone," Kakashi said, who was now gathering chakra towards his left eye. He had to keep Zabuza's attention on him. The fact was that the missing nin was right, partially. The Genin were no match for this missing nin. If he kept Zabuza's focus on himself, then his students would be safe. But with his Sharingan in use, the amount of time that he had to fight Zabuza was already limited. He was going to have to make this quick…

"As you wish," Zabuza said with a chuckle. Fog suddenly began enveloping Team Seven as if out of nowhere. The Genin looked around nervously, but Kakashi still had his eyes fixed on Zabuza. Then, he too was gone in the mist, disappearing without a trace.

"Where'd he go?" Naruto asked shakily, scanning his surroundings.

"Byakugan!" Veins sprouted from the sides of Hinata's head and her white eyes suddenly became fiercer. Naruto always hated her family's skill. It made them look scary and ruthless, not like what Hinata really was on the inside at all. He definitely preferred the kind eyed Hinata where he could always find comfort in…he could actually use those eyes right about now.

"Do you see him, Hinata?" Kakashi asked as he went through a couple hand seals in rapid succession.

"No, I can't see him anywhere," she said truthfully as she continued to scan the forest, her body beginning to shake violently in fear. "It's like he completely vanished…!"

"What if he comes and attacks us?" Naruto asked while similar panic to that of Hinata's welled up in him as well, picturing a large sword coming down and chopping him in half. Beside him, he noticed Shikamaru's hand that was gripping his kunai had become white from gripping it so hard. What had they gotten themselves into? They were just Genin…they weren't ready for this…not now.

"Don't worry Naruto, I'll protect you with my life," Kakashi said turning around and smiling with both eyes closed. "Every single one of you," he added to Hinata and Shikamaru. For the first time, the three Genin felt safe around their sensei, which was a good feeling with what situation they were now in. And if anything else, the words also seemed to warm them from the inside out as well. Were they really that important to him? It seemed so difficult to soak in from their past experiences with their at times careless sensei. But now, they could not think of anyone they would rather be beside in a battle.

"Heartwarming…" Zabuza's voice said from inside the fog. "Too bad words don't mean anything if the one who says them lacks the skill…"

Five Zabuzas suddenly appeared around the group of Tazuna, Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru, blocking any direction of escape. Naruto along with Hinata and Shikamaru each faced a different Zabuza, looking straight a different bushin's eyes. Naruto was struck by fear by the looks of his eyes. They almost reminded him of some of the villagers back at Konoha. They were so cold. It was as if he didn't even exist. But the man's killer intent set him apart from any of the villagers back at his home. It was as if their total existence was for him to destroy them. It was intoxicating. No emotion, no opinion, no bias…it was like this guy was death itself.

"Mizu bushin no jutsu!"

The next thing the three Genin knew, there was one Kakashi for each Zabuza, facing off without either of them moving an inch. The Zabuza bushin that was in front of Naruto had his eyes narrow slightly as he faced his enemy's clone in front of him. His dark eyes now seemed to show more annoyance than anything else now.

"So you think you can defeat me with my own jutsu, Kakashi?" the Zabuza doppelganger asked, eyeing his opponent carefully for any sign of movement on his part. "Is this how you win all your battles, by copying the skills of your enemy?"

"Don't worry, once I defeat you, you'll never have to worry about me copying your techniques ever again," Kakashi's own replication responded while drawing a kunai. "Naruto! Hinata! Shikamaru! When I tell you to, I want you to run toward the lake."

"Why do we-" Naruto began to ask but stopped when Shikamaru dug his heel into the blonde's toe.

"Just do what he says, okay?" Shikamaru said. "He's a Jonin after all."

Naruto continued to stare at Shikamaru, but then just nodded and prepared himself. For now, he just had to trust Kakashi-sensei. That's all he could do now. He looked over at Hinata who was still shaking in fear from the surrounding bushins. She turned her empty eyes toward Naruto, and although her blank white eyes could not betray any emotion, he knew perfectly well from being around her for so long that she was as terrified as he was.

"It's alright," he said next to her softly, trying his best to calm her down. "Nothing is going to happen when I'm around."

"…I know, Naruto-kun," Hinata said smiling at the blonde next to her, taking comfort in the beautiful pools of blue that were his eyes.

"Move!"

Team Seven and Tazuna immediately began running toward the lake while the battle between the mizu bushins exploded around them. At one point, one of the Zabuza bushins got dangerously close to them until a Kakashi mizu bushin jumped in his path. Naruto made sure to keep his eyes forward at the lake in front of him, running hard but making sure not to outrun his teammates or Tazuna. What surprised him was just how quite the battle behind him was. All he could hear were a couple whistles of kunai and an occasional clash of steel. No yelling, no shouts of jutsu being performed…it was practically silent. Finally though, Team Seven made it to the lake and took only a moment to look back at the battle they had left behind

"Big mistake…"

The three turned immediately as a Zabuza bushin suddenly rose out of the lake's surface and eyed Tazuna, gripping the zambato on his back. Shikamaru let out one of his rare curses while Hinata and Naruto could only stare at the older ninja in shock.

"This is the end!" the bushin roared as it took its sword off its back and swung toward the four. Naruto closed his eyes and prepared himself for the pain of being ripped in half. Another moment passed and still no sword sliced through him. He dared himself to open his eyes and found that the bushin had been dispelled by either one of Kakashi's mizu bushins or Kakashi himself.

"Is everybody okay?" he asked, pulling out a shuriken from his left shoulder, revealing him to be the original Kakashi due to the blood that began to drip down his arm.

"What happened to that guy?" Tazuna asked, getting straight to the point.

"…I don't know," Kakashi admitted. Suddenly, with speed that none of them could see, Kakashi was kicked violently high into the air and out into the lake by Zabuza.

"I'll take care of you once I'm done with Kakashi," Zabuza said to the elder bridge builder, then jumped high into the air, disappearing into the mist.

Naruto and his teammates could only watch in near horror as their sensei was trapped in the water prison with no way of escape. With pointless hope, they watched Kakashi attempt to break out of the prison with a couple of taijutsu attacks, but none of them even began to faze the shield.

"What the heck are we going to do now?" Naruto asked.

"You're going to run, that's what you're going to do!" Kakashi yelled from his prison. "He can't go anywhere as long as he holds me here, get Tazuna-san out of here. Now!"

"But we can't do that damn it…" Shikamaru whispered to himself.

"B-but Kakashi-sensei told us to," Hinata said with fear causing her voice to shake. "We're only Genin, we can't beat Zabuza."

"Don't you see?" Shikamaru asked angrily, though more so at the situation they were in than at Hinata herself. "No matter where we go, no matter what we do, he'll find us. And then he'll kill us and Tazuna. To even have a chance to survive, we need Kakashi." To be completely honest, there wasn't anything he wanted more than to just run away from here as fast as his legs could take him. Shikamaru had always described himself as the number one guy of running away. Yet without Kakashi to aid them, their doom was assured.

"…Shikamaru is right," Naruto said clenching his fist in determination. "Kakashi has doubted our abilities ever since we started this mission. It's about time we show him that we're not little kids anymore. Besides, how hard will it be to beat some guy who can't even move?"

"Do you really think that he'll just stand there and allow us to attack him?" Shikamaru asked motioning toward the lake with his head.

Hinata and Naruto both began to pale as another Zabuza rose out of the lake and glared at them. Shikamaru though was not looking at the mizu bushin. Actually, he had his eyes closed with his hands in a circle. With a deep breath, he took in everything around him. The bushin, each person's position and known abilities, the water, their weapons, Zabuza's weapons… He went through every detail once, then twice more, until he opened his eyes and looked toward the bushin with a glint shining in his eyes.

"So, anybody got a plan?" Naruto asked worriedly.

"Well, I've got one," Shikamaru said. Naruto looked at the boy in surprise. The truth was that he wasn't really expecting an answer, but what Shikamaru had just said made him feel a whole lot better. "No offence Shikamaru, but I really hope you have one hell of a plan right now. So what do we need to do?"

"First off, we need that bushin gone if we want my plan to work in the first place," Shikamaru said. "He'll be too much of a distraction to pull it off. Naruto, you think you can get rid of that thing?"

"Right now, I don't think any of us really have much of a choice. You can count on me though," Naruto said confidently. Shikamaru's left eye twitched for a second at the blonde's response. He had become so used to the blonde's cocky and confident attitude since they had become teammates. Hearing him talk so nervously was so out of character of him. Just thinking about his teammate being nervous made Shikamaru shiver. He supposed that even Naruto could recognize a bad situation when it arose.

"Okay. Hinata, I'll tell you the plan," he said waving for Hinata to follow him toward Tazuna. Hinata, reluctantly, nodded and began to follow Shikamaru. "Oh, and Naruto?" Shikamaru said, turning back to the blonde. "Be careful. Even though that thing is only a mizu bushin, it doesn't mean it isn't powerful."

"Ah just cool off and get that plan into action," Naruto said waving at them with his back turned to them, keeping his eyes on the bushin. With a grim nod, Shikamaru began instructing Hinata on his plan.

"I'm going to be fighting one Genin?" Zabuza's replication asked as he stood in a halt a couple yards away from Naruto. "This has to be some kind of joke."

Naruto then switched to the best style of attack he knew, verbal. "The only joke around here is the way you dress!" Naruto yelled pointing. "If you can even call it dressing! What is it? You too stupid to know which way you put your head in for a shirt? And what's with your eyebrows? I'm not too sure if someone like you would know, but only girls pluck their eyebrows! Do you have on lipstick underneath those bandages too?"

"You're an annoying little brat," the clone growled. Naruto only smiled back. When it came to insulting people, he was the best around. For some reason, he could always find the one thing to push someone's buttons the most. "Damned straight. And you're a freak of ninja nature," Naruto responded as he threw back his blonde head and laughed skyward.

"What a fool," the mizu bushin responded once again. Then with speed that Naruto could hardly believe was possible, especially with his giant sword, the Zabuza bushin charged forward with his zanbato drawn back once again to attack Naruto.

Using his size to his advantage, Naruto ducked low and dodged the attack, surprising even himself that he had actually been able to dodge it. Reaching for his weapons pouch, he drew out three shuriken for each of his hands and threw them at Zabuza, though the Kiri nin just held out his sword and the projectiles bounced harmlessly in various directions. As quickly as he could, Naruto leapt into the air to attack the bushin. His punch though was easily turned aside by the man's muscular arm and his rebounded kick was dodged by a mere lean to the side.

Again, Naruto's cerulean eyes widened in surprise as the Mizu Bushin in front of him suddenly vanished. He let out a shout of fear as it once again reappeared right in front of him and grabbed Naruto by the neck, raising him off the ground. The clone held Naruto just hard enough so that he could get a trickle of air through his neck, making the boy gasp for air.

"H-hey! Lemme go!" Naruto gasped, trying to break out of the clone's iron hard grip.

"Naruto!" Hinata yelled from where she stood with Shikamaru. The lazy member of their team spun around on his heel and looked at the blonde. He had to quickly grab Hinata by the wirst so that she didn't charge right at Zabuza. Not wasting any time, he drew a kunai with his other hand, but halted when he saw the bushin look straight at him. He immediately recognized the "do anything and he dies" message that was being sent his way. Shikamaru gripped his kunai in frustration, realizing that there was nothing he could do now.

"Struggle all you want, it won't help," it said as he pulled back his fist, returning his attention back to Naruto. He then sent a powerful blow into the boy's gut, making Naruto to cough up a large quantity of blood and onto Zabuza's body. Not even remotely affected by the blood that now dripped down his chest, the bushin drew back his fist again and punched Naruto once in the stomach again, then in the nose. He lifted up the blonde and brought him down so that he could face the boy. Naruto opened one of his eyes and let out a weak growl that still echoed in defiance.

"You're a tough one, I'll give you that much," Zabuza said, though it hardly seemed to be a compliment. He punched the boy four more times, making sure to miss his vital organs to cause as much pain as possible. He also punched slowly, so that the boy as well as Kakashi beside the original Zabuza could count every single blow that hit him. Zabuza finished it off by drilling the boy's face into the dirt so hard that a small imprint of Naruto's face remained when he lifted the boy back up. Fully satisfied, Zabuza threw Naruto back toward his teammates, though he did make sure that the boy ricocheted off of a tree at a fast rate while on the way there before rolling to a stop.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru and Hinata yelled in unison, running toward the fallen blonde with Tazuna close behind. When they arrived, Shikamaru saw Hinata bite back tears after seeing the boy's face. His once orange jumpsuit had turned red from the amount of blood. His right eye was bruised and almost swollen shut from one of the punches, and the worst part was that Naruto didn't seem to be breathing.

"One down, Kakashi," the original Zabuza said to his captive, seeming to become slightly entertained when he noticed his prisoner's look of rage.

"You rotten bastard," Kakashi said with a growl. "Do you have no heart? How can you be so ruthless to a child?"

"A shinobi is to not have any emotions in battle…isn't that one of the laws?" Zabuza asked. "You know, I haven't killed the boy yet. Tell your brats to give me the bridge builder and then you can all go home and be able to save him. Refuse and you'll have three children's deaths on your conscious. Not that you'd have to worry much about it since you'll be following close behind them. But only after you watch me kill them, one by one. So, what's it going to be, Kakashi?"

The truth was that Kakashi was seriously considering this option, but realized that even if he did let Zabuza have Tazuna, it was more than likely that the man would just turn right around and kill him and his students in the night. They're chance of escape was gone. Now, all he could do was hope that his students could pull off a miracle.

"Naruto!" Hinata yelled as her tears began to flow from her white eyes. "Naruto!"

* * *

_And there it is, the first part (of two) of Team Seven's first fight against Zabuza, though it's a little short for my tastes. Sorry about the cliffhanger, I just…ah, who am I kidding. I love cliff hangers! They're so fun to put in a story. Sorry people, but expect more of them to show up in my later fics. As in lots of them._

_Also, as a side note about Naruto being "weak" in this story...this isn't a Clash of Ninja videogame. Naruto is a Genin fresh out of the academy. Zabuza is a Jonin who had enough strengh and influence to actually try and kill the Mizukage. And let's also take into account who actually is the Mizukage from what we learned from Shippuden (no spoilers). In short, the gap of skill between the two is extremely large, so even Zabuza's Mizu Bushin is more than a little trouble for him. So in other words, Naruto has his hands full with this even this guy's Mizu Bushin. But let's not forget that Naruto has a couple tricks up his sleeves as well. I'll leave it at that for now though._

_I'd like to also thank all the people that have emailed me jutsu ideas for my fic! Thanks guys (and gals) for the ideas. I wish that I had your creativity. Keep sending them! Jutsu's for Haku and Zabuza are accepted as well, along with other villains. Jutsus for the other members of the rookie nine and Team Guy are also accepted. Go crazy everyone!_

_GAZ_


	6. Lakeside Battle: Part 2

_Hey guys. Seems like I may have ticked a couple people off with my so called "weak Naruto". Well don't worry, I have a reason for him being beaten up so bad (you'll see later) and he'll more than make up for it in this chapter. And don't worry, he's not super powered either. Enjoy._

* * *

Nara Shikamaru, the so called laziest and impassive student in the academy had become frozen in his tracks in horror. There was only one thought in his mind at the moment. _He_ had caused this. It was his fault that Hinata's eyes were brimming with tears and still shouting Naruto's name, his fault that his new teammate was now covered in blood, his fault that Naruto was…He turned his head away from his teammate's bloodied and beaten body. He should have known that Naruto didn't stand a chance alone against Zabuza, even if it was only a mizu bushin. He had left Naruto alone, a teammate alone, a _friend_ alone.

Cursing once again, he closed his eyes and bowed his head and in despair. It was all over for them. He couldn't do this all by himself, and Hinata was too distraught over Naruto to do anything. Naruto was the glue that held the plan together…so much had been relying on him. Without Naruto, they were doomed.

"Thank goodness, he has a pulse!" Hinata breathed in relief, though tears still continued to fall down her face. Shikamaru snapped out of his dreamland and looked back at his two teammates. Hinata was attempting to bandage some of the wounds with the first aid kit that she had in her backpack. Looking back to Naruto, he could now see his chest moving up and down. His breathing seemed irregular and ragged, but at least he was breathing. In relief, he let out a breath that he had unconsciously been holding in. He knelt down to inspect the blonde's injuries. Something about them made his left eyebrow rise in confusion. With how much blood the boy was wearing now, his wounds should have been a lot worse than this. In fact, they didn't look nearly as bad as they had seemed only a minute ago.

He and Hinata suddenly jumped back in surprise. A thin outline of red began to make its way around Naruto's body, completely surrounding him. If Shikamaru hadn't known any better, he would have said it was chakra. But chakra wasn't red. If it was chakra, it would have been a light blue color. So where in the world was this coming from?

He looked at Hinata in confusion, which she sent back as well. That would mean that even she didn't know what was going on. Shikamaru looked back at Naruto and his eyes widened further when he saw that the blonde's wounds were actually _shrinking. _The red energy began to flow toward the injuries, and soon every cut, ever scrape, every scathe was beginning to heal.

"Hinata…" Shikamaru said, pointing to the wounds. She also looked down at Naruto and gasped, finally noticing his wounds healing as well. Shikamaru could tell though that it was more out of relief than shock.

"Yes Mailman-san, I would like eight bowls of miso ramen, and make it snappy," Naruto mumbled. Those words, no matter how ridiculous, were the only things Shikamaru needed to hear to help him breathe easily once again.

"He's okay?" Tazuna asked in disbelief from behind the two Genin.

"Naruto! Wake up!" Hinata said, lightly shaking her friend's body.

"Wha-what is it?!" Naruto yelled sitting up and looking down at the blood on his body. "Man, did I just wake up from getting beaten up by Sakura again?" He still had a bruised eye but it lacked the severity that it once had, there were also many cuts remaining on his body as well, but none were even close to life threatening. Shikamaru noticed that the red energy had disappeared entirely, as if it hadn't been there at all. For once in a long time, Shikamaru was completely stumped of what was going on.

Naruto then looked around and recognized his surroundings, as well as the shocked Zabuza clone that stood about twenty meters away from him. The original Zabuza was in a similar state of amazement.

"Just what is that kid?" Zabuza questioned aloud.

"My, you seem a little shaken from my students, great Demon of the Mist," Kakashi said laughing. "I suppose the fearsome stories everyone tells about you are merely stories after all."

"Kakashi, you will tell me who that kid is right this instant!" Zabuza growled at the Copy Nin of Konoha. "There is no way he should be standing at this moment, he should barely even be breathing! And what was that red chakra that he was emiting? That wasn't even chakra!"

"Well, if you must know," Kakashi said innocently, "he is Uzumaki Naruto, the loudest, most annoying, troublemaking ninja in the Konohakagure. And I'd be careful of him if I were you. You have no idea what he is capable of, or my other students."

"We'll see about that," Zabuza said balling his free hand in a fist and turning his attention back to the shoreline. Zabuza had never heard of this kind of bloodline trait before from Konoha, and he had been taught all bloodline limits from Konoha, a requirement of graduating academy students in Kirikagure. But he was still in shock from the chakra that he had just seen. Something about it seemed foul, but Zabuza could not put how it was in words. There was one more thing also that tugged Zabuza in the back of his mind…something about the boy's name did somehow sound familiar to him…

"Okay, Hinata-chan," Naruto said pointing at his friend back on shore. "Here's a tip. Don't ever insult an extra powerful enemy ninja."

Hinata almost smiled. She was still very worried about Naruto after such a rough beating. But for some reason, he acted as if nothing had ever happened. It was uncanny. Not to mention such a fast healing rate was supposed to be impossible.

"Besides, even if he's a little tougher than I thought, big deal," Naruto said standing to his feet again. "I know how to take care of him! Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" With a yell from the original Naruto, his kage bushins charged after him, yelling different insults and battle cries at Zabuza's mizu bushin and driving their kunai down at it at the same time. But each was batted off with the side of his sword as if they were flies, including the original Naruto.

"Pathetic, you can't defeat me," the bushin said laughing and holding his sword off to his side as he watched each of Naruto's bushins disappear out of existence.

"Damn it!" Naruto yelled as he skidded to a halt next to Shikamaru and Hinata once again.

Shikamaru was stunned speechless beside his teammate. Naruto had been able to take the biggest beating he had ever seen in his life, and he was still able to get back up and perform a Jonin level jutsu. Shikamaru couldn't figure out where the kid could get so much chakra, let alone have enough stamina to get back up. But even with these remarkable traits, he was still no match for Zabuza's bushin.

"...Okay, looks like you're going to need some help," Shikamaru said helping Naruto once again to his feet. "But you already know that I can't fight for beans. I can take out that mizu bushin, but I need light."

Naruto seemed to take this into thought for a second, and then his face lit up as a sly smile crossed his lips. If Hinata hadn't been so scared at that moment, she would have giggled at Naruto's experssion. She recognized that look well, it was the one Naruto always put on when he was formulating a new prank.

"No problem, Shikamaru. This next move will be one that Zabuza will never forget," Naruto said. Giving his two teammates the thumbs up, he turned back towards the clone while Shikamaru began going through a couple hand signs himself.

"Come back for more, eh? Well then, I'll just have to rip your tiny body in half this time now won't I?" the clone said raising his giant sword once again.

Not wasting any time with talking, Naruto went straight onto the offensive. "Kage bushin no jutsu!" Once more, about twenty bushins appeared behind Naruto, and all the water clone did was roll its eyes and prepared himself once more. But instead of the kage bushins charging him, they instead decided to surround him. Zabuza could only laugh at the pathetically simple excuse of a strategy.

"You really think surrounding me will make any difference?" Zabuza's bushin asked looking at each of his opponents. Zabuza was then surprised when he saw the blonde smile back at him and make a simple hand sign.

"Henge!" each clone yelled. Zabuza's wrapped jaw dropped at what happened next. He was now not surrounded by short and annoying blonde ninjas, but tall, curvy women in pigtails. What made him shocked was not that the boy had transformed into them, but that each of the women was absolutely bare naked, with only the small exception of some strategically placed smoke that covered their..."personal" spots.

While this was all happening, Shikamaru nearly fell to the ground at the sight of the perverted jutsu. He slowly stood back up to his feet and tried his best not to blush in his hiding place behind a rather large tree. Shikamaru has only seen the infamous Oiroke no Jutsu on a handful of occasions. As far as he knew, Naruto didn't use it that often. Whether because he had a higher respect for women because of his friendship with Hinata or maybe because Shikamaru hadn't been awake when the boy used the jutsu, he wasn't quite sure. The first time Shikamaru saw it his mother kept him in bed for a week, thinking that the constant red hue in his face was due to a fever. The Nara stole a glance from his hiding spot to check up on Hinata. Shikamaru had to stifle a laugh when he noticed that Tazuna had fainted from the jutsu with a small amount of blood leaking onto the forest floor from his nose. Hinata was kneeling beside him, trying her best to fan the elderly man with the circular hat he had been wearing.

"Great, we're supposed to be protecting Tazuna and Naruto goes and knocks him out," Shikamaru said with a sigh. "This plan better work, Naruto."

Said ninja, who was now a busty young woman, was inwardly laughing his ass off. Zabuza, the ninja they had been dreading through this whole battle, was now frozen in his tracks. Well, at least his bushin was, which is pretty much a reflection of the original Zabuza. _'Ninja or not, he's still a guy. Good thing he's straight and a slight pervert. So step one: immobilize Zabuza, is now accomplished. Now to go in for the kill…"_

"It's my Hāremu no Jutsu, you like?" one of the female bushins asked, slowly running a hand down her curvy body. "Zabuza-sama, has anybody told you that you have a _gorgeous_ body?" she asked, approaching the man while swaying her hips seductively.

"Damn it!" the clone yelled, using one hand to cover his nose that now leaked with water and using the other to cut down the advancing woman. Zabuza nearly felt the need to cover his ears due to the earsplitting scream that had eruptted from the remaining blonde women that surrounded him.

"You meanie!" a couple girls yelled together. Others cried, and even more just stomped their feet and pouted while crossing their arms over their developed chests.

"You know, we girls all have to stick together," one suddenly said, catching Zabuza's attention. The woman then raised both her hands, surprising Zabuza as she began to go through hand signs. The other girls around him started to do the same.

"Bye bye," the woman straight in front of the clone giggled girlishly, holding up her finger and winking at Zabuza.

"Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!" all the women yelled, blowing hot fire out of their mouths at the clone.

"Three combined jutsus?!" the clone yelled in shock as it jumped high into the air to dodge the attack. For a Genin being able to pull something like that was nothing less than astounding. It required so much chakra that it was ridiculous. And this boy toyed with it as though he had it by the bucketful!

"Kage Kubi Shibari no Jutsu (Shadow Neck Bind Technique)!"

"What!" the clone yelled as he finally hit the ground. It wasn't able to move, frozen in its tracks. The mizu bushin cursed to himself for forgetting the other two Genin that were still around. He looked over at the grinning Shikamaru, though the clone's eyes were soon drawn down to the shadow that was now making its way up its leg. Shikamaru was silently thanking Naruto for the help, he had been able to use the light from the fire Naruto had created to make his shadow, which was now ensnared their enemy.

He was also thankful that his father had taught him the jutsu at such a young age. He actually taught him it to just shut Shikamaru up when he was complaining about how Naruto was so annoying. Shikaku then took him out training for a day and gave a quick lesson of the jutsu. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough.

"Interesting thing about bushins," Shikamaru said as he held the clone in place with a little more difficulty than with past targets. "The usual ones that are taught in the academy are nothing more than images to trick your opponent, pretty much only visible air. But solid ones, such as mizu and kage bushins, become an actual living organism. This means that to sustain themselves, they need food for energy, water to keep hydrated…and even air to breath." As Shikamaru explained this, his shadow continued to snake its way up the doppelganger's body and eventually up to the man's face. The clone let out a soundless roar as the dark aura finally reached his face. For a second it seemed to be attempting to break free, but it soon became limp and was once again nothing more than a puddle of water.

"Hinata! Now!" Shikamaru yelled as he let the jutsu go. He and Hinata ran as fast as they could to the lake and began throwing any and all weapons that they had toward the real Zabuza.

"Kunai and shuriken? You've got to be kidding me," Zabuza said grabbing the sword on his back. Then, once again, Zabuza was caught by surprise. Instead of coming straight at him, the kunai had been thrown high into the air, causing them to fall slowly toward him. And instead of hitting Zabuza off the bat, the shuriken were flying around him instead. After a moment, Zabuza realized their plan. Each and every one of the projectiles was strapped with some kind of bomb, and before Zabuza could swat some away at long range, they began to explode around him.

"Hinata, use you're Byakugan to see where Zabuza is, then throw a kunai knife straight at him so I can get an idea where he is," Shikamaru said this time. Hinata nodded, and with a simple blink of her eyes, her Byakugan activated. Not even a second after she did, she pulled out a kunai and threw it straight into the fog.

"Okay, keep throwing the explosives. Naruto!" Shikamaru said now turning to the blonde next to him as quickly and quietly as he could while still throwing kunai into the smoke that now enveloped the lake. "I need kage bushins, one will do. I need you and the bushin to launch me over to Zabuza. Then I'll hit him and hopefully set Kakashi free."

"No way!" Naruto yelled back. "You said yourself, you're horrible at fighting. I'll do it."

"We can't argue about this! Me and Hinata are running out of shuriken and kunai," Shikamaru said sternly. "We have to do this now!"

"I'm glad that you see it my way, Shikamaru," Naruto said making the hand sign once more. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

"Don't do it!" Shikamaru yelled. But it was already too late. The two clones appeared on each side of Naruto. With the bushins cupping each of their hands, the original Naruto jumped into their hands and chakra jumped into the smoke.

"No! He doesn't understand how low the actual possibility of hitting Zabuza is. If he misses there's no way he can survive!" Shikamaru yelled.

"What?!" Hinata gasped.

Meanwhile, Zabuza was now attempting to see through the thick black smoke that surrounded him. He cursed himself for not expecting the attack. If he had known, he might have not received as much damage as he had by batting them away with his sword. Luckily, the only follow up had been a pathetic kunai that he dodged by merely leaning his head to the left. Zabuza was hurt and burnt, but he was still standing. He smiled from underneath his bandages, knowing that they're attack had failed.

The man then let out a shout in alarm as Naruto came into view and burst through the smoke screen, way too close for comfort.

"Take this you eyebrowless freak!" the boy yelled, kicking Zabuza straight in the jaw. The Demon of the Mist stumbled backwards from the blow, losing his concentration for the prison. Zabuza opened one of his eyes to peer at Naruto, who was now looking at Zabuza in silent triumph. Enraged by the look, Zabuza drew back his sword and brought it down in the boy's direction.

The sword stopped suddenly, a mere heartbeat before the blade hit Naruto. Kakashi stood before Zabuza, wordlessly using a kunai to stop the sword. The only sound that could be heard was Naruto hitting the water.

"If you think that I'll allow you hurt any of my students…" Kakashi said, glaring at Zabuza as he once again began to power up his Sharingan, "You'll have to do it over my cold, lifeless corpse!"

--

"Stupid little fool!" Shikamaru yelled as he continued to look into the smoke that covered the lake. "Why can't he just listen once in his life?"

"You don't think Naruto missed, do you?" Hinata asked fearfully. The Nara beside her though did not utter a word, whether it was because he thought it was too troublesome to answer or because he didn't want to tell her what he actually thought, she did not know.

Hinata once again pulled chakra to her eyes and activated her Byakugan, desperately looking into the smoke. She could now see that Kakashi was free of his water prison and was stopping Zabuza's sword with a drawn kunai. But even the sight of her sensei being freed was not enough to make Hinata feel better about the situation. Naruto was nowhere to be seen. Her heart began to race and she wasn't able to breathe in to supply her body with air. All her heart and body knew was trying to find Naruto.

"What do you see?" Shikamaru asked, noticing her kekae genkai being activated.

The blue haired Hyuuga didn't answer. She continued to scan the lake's surface for her crush's body, bobbing up and down in victory that he had accomplished the plan. She felt Shikamaru's hand rest on her shoulder, but she shook it off. She wasn't going to give up on Naruto. He had to be alive, just had to be…

"Hey Kakashi-sensei, kick him once in the balls for me!" the familiar voice of Naruto sounded from the right. Hinata immediately shifted her attention toward where the voice had come from. There was Naruto, punching the air in his child like fashion. Hinata quietly muttered a prayer of thanks to whatever god had been looking over Naruto.

"He's okay," Hinata said dropping to her knees. "Naruto is safe…"

"I suppose Kakashi is too?" Shikamaru asked, still trying to peer through the fog. This was just great. His plan worked, but right at the good part he couldn't see squat. He sighed in his usual lazy tone, wishing that he had a kekkei genkai like Hinata's.

"Yes," Hinata said, forcing herself to stand again. She watched as the two Jonins spoke to each other, or at least that was what Hinata assumed they were doing, she couldn't tell with their mouths covered up. Zabuza then grabbed his sword with both hands and swiped the blade toward Kakashi's head, yet the Copy Nin was able to lean backwards far enough to dodge the attack.

"You're good Kakashi," Zabuza growled as he continuously attempted to hack Kakashi into ribbons.

"So you finally noticed," Kakashi said leaping backwards to dodge the gigantic sword. "Too bad it's too late for you to back down. I might have spared you if you had."

"It is me that you must fear, not the other way around!" Zabuza said as he began to run to the left to circle around Kakashi, but the other Jonin merely copied his movements step by step.

"Don't worry, you'll know what fear is soon enough," Kakashi responded. At the end of his sentence, Kakashi and Zabuza both stopped running and threw five kunai knives at each other, each canceling out the other when they collided.

_Why can't I touch him?!_ Zabuza asked himself, adding a couple curses out loud as well. Zabuza raised his left arm in the air and made a hand sign with his right at his chest, right when Kakashi did so as well.

"Stop copying me you bastard!" Zabuza yelled, filling the entire woods with his deep voice.

"What is it Zabuza? Afraid of your own jutsu?" Kakashi asked mockingly.

"I'll show you what my jutsu can do!" Zabuza yelled back, starting his hand signs once again.

"Well?" Shikamaru asked, back on shore. "Are you going to tell me what is happening or am I just going to have to sit here and wait for the smoke and mist to clear?"

"They seem to be doing some hand signs…" Hinata stated. Then she paused for a moment puzzling Shikamaru. "They're both doing the exact same seals at the same time. It's as if they were doing it in front of a mirror. It's weird…"

"Can you tell what kind of jutsu they are performing?" Shikamaru asked.

"…I think it's…some kind of suiton jutsu…"

"Great, this may be bad. I'm going to get Tazuna to a safe place. Make sure to watch out, those are Jonins out there fighting. There's no telling how powerful their next move could be." Shikamaru then spun around and ran in the opposite direction from the lake.

Hinata, on the other hand, was trying to both keep an eye on Naruto, Kakashi, and Zabuza all at the same time. The jutsu was extremely long. The hand signs seemed to just go on and on without end. Finally, the two stopped.

"Suiton: Suiryudan no jutsu (Water Dragon Jutsu)!"

Hinata watched in astonishment as two mighty dragons surfaced out of the lake. Their body's seemed to pulse with the same blue color as the water, mixed with the occasional white. Upon further inspection with her Byakugan, Hinata realized that the dragons were actually _made_ of water! She had only heard a handful of stories about this kind of jutsu. It could only be mastered by the strictest of ninjas, and also required a great amount of chakra.

All Hinata could do was continue to stare as the two dragons circled each other in a seemingly dance fashion, each of them not allowing the other to reach its owner. The two dragons made a death plunge toward the water, both wrapped up in the other's winding body. The sheer force of how hard the two hit the water was nearly deafening to Hinata, forcing her to cover her ears. Kakashi and Zabuza were both lost in the sea of spray that followed, making Hinata dig even further into her Byakugan to see the two. She paid no mind to the silhouettes that she only began to see though, because she had seen something else before she did them: a giant wave, heading straight for the shore. Hinata jumped backwards and landed in the branches of a nearby oak tree, getting herself safely out of the way of the wave that now washed over the ground.

"Whoa! Kakashi-sensei! Watch it will ya!"

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata gasped, searching for any sign of the blonde.

"Hinata!"

Following the voice, Hinata looked straight in front of her, finally realizing that Naruto was heading straight for her atop a particularly large wave. Hinata jumped to her feet and ran to the edge of the branch, not thinking of her own safety. Reaching out as far as she could, she was miraculously able to grab hold of her friend's hand. Hinata felt Naruto's hand gripped her arm, securing his hold.

"Sheesh, Kakashi-sensei! I save you from a water prison and you go and nearly drown me and smash me up against a tree!" Naruto turned his head up to Hinata, flashing her one of his wide fox like grins as the water below them flooded the forest floor. "You know Hinata, a lot of people are really inconsiderate."

"I'm glad you're okay, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, not knowing any other way to respond.

"Yeah well, I'll be a lot better if you pull me up," Naruto said jokingly.

"Oh! I-I'm really s-sorry a-about that," she stammered. She then finally began pulling up and got Naruto onto the branch. He let out a long whistle, looking down at the destruction that had been laid upon the land underneath him.

"Man, are all Jonin's crazy or is it just those two?" Naruto asked looking downwards.

"I don't think all of them are," Hinata said. She left out the part about her cousin having a sensei who ran around the village twenty times on his hands in the morning while wearing a green spandex jumpsuit and spewing speeches about the magnificence of youth.

"Hey, look!" Naruto yelled, pointing at the lake. Hinata turned her eyes back to the lake. She tensed up slightly when she realized that it was oddly quiet. Then she saw why. Zabuza and Kakashi were still standing atop the lake's surface, but it seemed that Kakashi had been able to maneuver behind Zabuza and get his kunai to the grey skinned man's neck, while gripping Zabuza's other arm in place that still held his zanbatuo. Both Jonins looked beat up, Zabuza most of all. Several kunai and shuriken now stuck out of various places on his body, the most gruesome looking one coming from his right shoulder, still leaking out bubbling blood. Not to mention the burns that he had received from her and Shikamaru's attack.

"It's over," Shikamaru said, dropping down from a branch above them. Naruto and Hinata nodded, not bothering to ask where Tazuna was. The three Genin jumped down from the tree and approached the lake slowly, still slightly cautious of Zabuza, despite the fact that he was beaten.

As the neared the edge of the lake, Kakashi looked over to his students and smiled from beneath his mask. "Well done, all of you," he shouted to his students. "I'm happy that you guys have actually been listening to me through all those training exercises." In truth, Kakashi was more than proud. They had been able to defeat a full powered mizu bushin of an enemy Jonin, which for a group of Genin should be impossible _and_ had been able to free him from his prison. And best of all, they worked together as a team to succeed.

But now was not the right time for celebration. They still had some unfinished business. Kakashi's eyes flickered from pride to cold as he looked back to Zabuza.

"It's over. Admit defeat," Kakashi stated callously.

Zabuza turned his head so that he could face Kakashi, laughing in his face. "And what?" he asked, still chuckling. "Do you really expect that I will just allow you, of all people Kakashi, to live after humiliating me in that last battle?"

"I don't think you understand what kind of position you are in. Do you really think that you have the right to mouth off, O Great Demon of the Hidden Mist?"

Zabuza's laugh suddenly became louder, sending shivers through Naruto and his teammate's spines as it reached their ears. "Always have an ace in the hole, Kakashi."

Almost as if on cue, ten senbon soared toward Kakashi from a tree. The senbon had come so fast and unexpectedly, that Kakashi only had time to jump backwards, he wasn't able to finish off Zabuza. But even with his great speed as a Jonin, a couple senbon still imbedded into his skin. Kakashi took note that the senbon were only inches away from being fatal hits. Though he could deal with this few minor wounds. In truth, the Kiri nin's sword had come dangerously close to his head after Kakashi's hand had released him.

Kakashi landed with a crouch, looking at the tree that the senbon had come from. Naruto, Shikamaru, and Hinata also turned to the tree. Standing on the tree's lowest branch was a boy who didn't seem that much taller than Shikamaru. His face was covered by a hunter nin's mask, concealing his true identity yet still showing his affiliation with Kirikagure.

"I never pictured you to be the teamwork kind of guy, Zabuza," Kakashi said, not taking his eyes off the boy. Though as young as he may appear, there was no doubt Kakashi's mind that the boy was a trained killer. If he needed further proof, he could just point out the five senbon that now stuck out of his own body.

"I have no teammate. What you see before you is my ultimate tool," Zabuza declared. "Do you think that you are the only one capable of having a student? And I can assure you this, mine is much more useful than all of your _children_ combined."

The boy from the branch swung his hand around his body, giving him a dramatic effect when he disappeared in a small gust of wind that sent the leaves on the branch he once stood on flying. He reappeared next to Zabuza on the lake, offering a bow to the older ninja.

"I warned you that this would probably be more difficult than had originally thought," the boy said in an impossibly smooth and soft voice. It unsettled Kakashi that such a voice could be Zabuza's "ultimate tool". "…Perhaps we should let them go. For the time being at least. You're in no condition to fight, and I doubt I could take Kakashi and his students at the same time…" The boy looked over to the Genin on the shoreline, turning so that he faced them completely. Each of them tensed up and readied themselves if the boy decided to attack. But he did nothing. He just stood motionless, looking at the three of them in silence.

"Agreed," Zabuza replied to the boy, though it sounded a bit forced. The swordsman turned back to Kakashi and stared at him straight in his Sharingan eye. "I'll be back, Kakashi. When that time comes, I'll defeat you once and for all and rip that accursed eye right out of your head!" With that, the mist once again began surrounding the two Kiri shinobi, and by the time Kakashi was able to see again, the two men had vanished.

"Kakashi-sensei! Are you alright?" Naruto yelled from the edge of the lake, bringing the Jonin's attention back to his students. He walked toward them casually, taking out any senbon he could find in the process.

"So fellas," Kakashi said closing his eyes in a smile. "How did you enjoy you're first ninja battle?"

"Come on, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto groaned irritably. "Even I know not to make jokes after all of that."

"Ah, don't worry," Kakashi said covering his Sharingan eye with his headband once more. "After getting into those kinds of battles about…oh ten times, you'll be able to find humor in anything."

"Let's just hope that one will be the last for a while," Shikamaru sighed while he placed his hands into his pockets. "They wouldn't happen to be letting Tazuna off the hook, are they?"

"Afraid not," Kakashi said seriously, shaking his head. "But Zabuza won't be fit to fight in…well quite a while. We should be fine for the moment. Speaking of the bridge builder, where is Tazuna?"

"He's behind that tree," Shikamaru said, nodding to a large tree nearby. "Naruto's little 'special attack' took a bigger toll on him than Zabuza."

"Well it just goes to show you," Naruto said with a grin. "You're never too old to be a pervert."

Hinata wasn't paying attention to their conversation at the moment though. Instead, she was looking at her sensei. Though only a small portion of his skin showed on his face, it was painfully clear that Kakashi was much paler than usual. Not only that, but his legs seemed to be shaking also, as if he was struggling to keep himself standing.

"Kakashi-sensei," Hinata said concernedly. "Are you alright?"

Kakashi didn't reply though. The only answer Hinata got was him dropping to his knees, then falling face first into the ground.

"Whoa! What happened?!" Shikamaru exclaimed, dropping to his knees and checking for a pulse on Kakashi's neck. Though slow and unsteady, it was still there.

"Is he alright?" Hinata asked, placing a hand over her heart in worry. She then shook the shock away and preformed the necessary hand signs to activate her Byakugan. Peering down, she saw that though his body did suffer from many bruises among other battle wounds, the only thing that seemed to be wrong was the exhaustion that was clear on his face.

"His chakra flow is normal," Hinata said confidently. "Though some of his body is suffering from some internal bleeding and he does have some minor injuries, he seems to be fine."

"For right now at least," the lazy Nara said turning back to his teammates. "But we better get him to that village soon or who knows what will happen. Naruto," he said turning to the blonde, "you grab Kakashi and I'll carry Tazuna."

"Why do I have to carry the heavier guy?" Naruto asked with a frown.

"Because I'm lazy," Shikamaru said plainly, walking towards the tree that Tazuna was behind without another word.

"You know what, Hinata?" Naruto grunted as he lifted Kakashi onto his back. "If it wasn't for you, I bet I would go crazy from being on this team," he said as he began his trek down the road, unaware that Shikamaru and Kakashi thought the same exact thing.

* * *

_Explanation time! I'm going to explain how Naruto can do three consecutive jutsus and still be fully energized. His body had just been healed by the Kyuubi's power, so now he has a little more chakra from the access chakra that he had received. On a normal occasion, he wouldn't be able to perform it. Oh, and I better explain how his injuries healed so fast as well. In my fic (don't know about the manga or anime) Naruto heals faster if the damage to his body is more severe since it needs to heal for him to survive. One more thing, about how Naruto was able to punch Zabuza. Basically, he couldn't see, couldn't move, and he wasn't expecting it. That's all I've got. So hopefully that covers everything._

_By the way, I apologize that my plan was perhaps not "Shikamaru worthy", but it was the best I had. Well, the next two chapters will be filler ones, but the action will start back up after that. But don't worry. I'll be adding a twist to it which will hopefully make it more interesting. Oh yeah, still accepting jutsu ideas. Well guys, GAZ is out!_


	7. Arrival to the Land of Waves

_Hello once again readers, and once again for sending reviews. I smile everytime I read them...well, most of them at least. Well, this chapter is going to be a tad bit longer than usual because I want to get these filler chapters out of the way as soon as possible. I know, you guys are crushed. Well, hope you enjoy it._

_Edited Note: After reading one of my last few reviews on this chapter, I decided to do some editing…And I mean A LOT of editing. I don't want to give it away for people reading this chapter for the first time, but it's in there. Anyways, I just hope that it's good. Again, enjoy the chapter!_

* * *

To put Kakashi's personal position at that very moment into words, he felt like shit. It turned out that Zabuza had been more of a problem than he had ever dreamed. Sure, Zabuza was probably in just as much pain as he was right then, but that still didn't make the the aches in his body dull down anymore. This only added another moment on his 'reasons-I-should-have-studied-more-medical-jutsu' list.

He hadn't tried to stand, but he was pretty sure that if he did, he would just end up right back onto the floor, except he'd then have to deal with a painful rear end. His head was still feeling hazy in addition. When he had first woken up he went straight into "planning mode", yet the room suddenly started spinning like a top, giving him a feeling of weakness. This feeling had passed, yet if he tried to read his book, the same thing would happen. Now his novel sat inside his side pouch, teasing him to no end with how he could not read it in at least one more day.

After the battle against Zabuza, Team 7 had somehow been able to drag him and Tazuna back to the village by themselves. According to them, Shikamaru and Naruto had switched passengers every mile or so, giving the other a chance to carry the lighter one. This news brightened Kakashi's mood, though he never made any verbal or physical sign that it did. Already his squad was functioning more as a team with every passing day. Their team may not be the best out there in the combat category, but there was no denying that they all worked very well with each other and fulfilled a different roll.

Though lazy and sometimes unreliable, Shikamaru had a tactical mind that surpassed some Chunin Kakashi knew. What he lacked in the fighting department he made up for the ability to think rationally in stressful situations. Even though his test scores didn't show it, the boy held a deep intelligence that Kakashi had never seen in a Genin before.

Hinata, though being the female member of the group, seemed to be the one with the most potential to become a great hand to hand fighter. Her jyuuken style was more effective than Kakashi had ever thought possible, and she was extremely flexible to boot. Kakashi could tell that, though from the branch house of the Hyuuga family, she had been drilled hard to advance her abilities. She also had some basic knowledge of taijustu as well, which probably came from her friendship with Sasuke and Naruto.

And so the last member of the group is mentioned. Uzumaki Naruto. He was annoying, loud, eccentric, and everything a decent ninja should _not_ be. But there was probably not one other Genin in Konoha that was more loyal and dedicated to his village, despite his frequent pranks and absences from school. Not to mention that he had above average chakra control for a Genin. Kakashi remembered one D ranked mission where they were cleaning out a man's garage, he had asked Naruto if he had ever had training in chakra control. He was surprised to hear that he had gotten special lessons from Iruka when he had been in the academy. Kakashi he had never viewed Iruka as one to show favoritism.

A knock came from outside his door, interrupting his thoughts. With a lazy 'come in' the door opened and Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, walked through the doorway with a tray of tea.

"Sorry if I woke you up," she apologized as she grabbed the seven cups on her tray and poured a cup, offering it to Kakashi. "I just thought you would maybe like some tea."

"That would be nice," Kakashi said, graciously taking the cup from the tray. "The rest of you can come in, I won't bite."

Four more heads peaked around the corner and looked at Kakashi. Kakashi beckoned them to come in, which they obeyed. Tazuna, Hinata, and Shikamaru all accepted a cup of tea from Tsunami, but Naruto politely declined and drank from a bottle of orange juice that he had carried into the room.

"So, you're finally awake, huh?" Tazuna asked, being the first to talk. "I suppose I owe you all thank you. You sure gave that Mist nin a beating back there this afternoon."

"I'm afraid that he may have done as much damage to me," Kakashi said with a chuckle, though he didn't mention the massive amount of chakra that was required to use his sharingan probably had something to do with this as well. "But we can't get too comfortable. Zabuza is still out there and he's planning his next move. Trust me, when he comes back he'll be deadlier than ever. Plus he has that kid to help him, too. He won't stay in hiding the next time around."

"Who was that kid anyway, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto spoke up after taking a gulp from his orange juice.

"If we can judge him by his mask, he may have once been a hunter nin for Kirikagure. Though by how he and Zabuza were talking to each other, it seems the two of them have been buddies for quite a while. And by the way he was using those senbon to attack me I'd say that he was probably…" Kakashi paused for a moment thinking, "mid Chunin level at least."

Naruto went into a fit of coughing at this prediction, seemingly almost choking on his drink. "Are you serious?" he asked, finally done. "That…kid is Chunin level! Maybe even higher?"

"It is kind of hard to believe, Kakashi-sensei," Hinata said, slightly hiding her mouth behind her cup. "He didn't seem to be that much older than us. Could he really be that powerful?"

"He did seem to be a skinny guy," Shikamaru said, laying his back against a dresser.

"Well you have little room to talk, Shikamaru," Kakashi said laughing at the irony. "And Naruto is a pipsqueak," he added when Naruto began to snicker at Shikamaru. "Yet you two were able to destroy Zabuza's mizu bushin and free me together. In the ninja world, you should never judge another's skills in battle just by looking at them. Many shinobi have died thinking that the larger enemy is the more dangerous one."

"So what you're saying is that we're completely screwed," Shikamaru said, resting his chin in his hand and placing his elbow on his leg. "Zabuza will probably be able to find a way to beat you and if he doesn't that kid will. This is turning out to be a fine C-rank mission."

"Hey, don't be placing the blame on me now," Tazuna said sternly. "You're the ones who said you would go through with the mission."

"If they had any brains at all, they would have given up on this when they had a chance."

Everyone's attention shifted over to the door. A small, dark haired boy stood in the doorway, shielding his eyes from the ninja in the group with his hat that was placed atop his head.

"Inari, give your grandpa a hug!" Tazuna said with outstretched arms, which the boy gladly jumped into to embrace the elder man.

"Inari," Tsunami said sternly, "You should not say things like that to the people who protected your grandfather."

"Not by much," Tazuna said ruffling the boy's hair next to him, earning him a sharp glare from his daughter. Yet she wasn't the only one who was glaring daggers. Inari stared at the ninja in the same way, as if it disgusted him for just being in his house.

"You shouldn't have come," he said turning away from them. "If you stay here you'll only end up dead. Now Gatou will come and kill you all."

"Inari!" Tsunami shouted in horror.

"Thanks for the big support kid," Shikamaru sighed. "We have enough problems as it is right now. If you want to be pessimistic then go somewhere else. You're too troublesome to deal with right now." Inari was taken back from this response. He had planned out what he was going to say to the ninja the whole time his grandfather was away. He had thought they would be angry or perhaps even feel hurt, if that was possible for a ninja. But being ignored and told to get lost was not something that had crossed his mind.

Inari snorted as he turned around to leave. "You are all fools. You think that just because you got lucky one time, you'll get lucky again? No one survives forever, and when Gatou wants you dead, no one can escape."

"Shut your mouth kid!" Naruto yelled as his face began to shine red in rage. "You are the most ungrateful little brat I've ever seen in my life! We came all the way here with less pay than we should have to protect your grandfather and all you can do is throw insults at us?! This Gatou is nothing compared to me. If he even comes within ten feet of me, I'll burn him to a crisp with my jutsu!"

Inari spared one last look back to Naruto with narrowed eyes. Naruto could not help but feel shocked from the small boy's eyes. They were cold, but not like the one the villagers from Konoha had when they look upon Naruto. They were the eyes of someone that has lost hope. Hope for his country, his grandfather, and even himself. Eventually the boy once again showed the shinobi his back, taking one step out of the door way before he finally spoke up again.

"You may talk tough, but let's see you say that when one of Gatou's men is about to drive a sword into you…" With a small whimper, the boy ran out of the room and turned the corner to go up the stairs.

"Inari! Wait!" Tsunami yelled after him as she followed him up the stairs.

"Is he alright?" Hinata asked quietly, who had been surprised that one so young could hold so much hate in his voice. "He seems to be very angry with something."

"He's not angry. Just depressed," Tazuna said sadly, taking a sip of his tea. "Inari is young, yet already he has experienced things that would break the heart of even the strongest of men. I apologize for his rudeness. He just cannot help himself."

"He used a very interesting choice of words," Kakashi said from his seat. "'…about to drive a sword into you'…Is there a story behind this?"

"There is," Tazuna said with a nod. "But I don't think now is the time to talk about it. Not now at least."

"Then we'll wait until it is time," Kakashi said setting down his still filled cup of tea. "And for now, we need to focus on other things. Such as your new training," Kakashi said turning to his squad.

"Training? What kind of training?" Naruto asked with an excited glint in his eye, completely forgetting the boy that had only moments before insulted him.

"You'll just have to wait a couple hours to see, now won't you?" he asked, enjoying the annoyed look on the blonde's face. "Now if you guy's don't mind, I'd like to get some shut eye," he said, signaling that he was done. Naruto, Shikamaru, Hinata, and Tazuna all began to stand up and leave, but Shikamaru felt a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from standing. "Except for you," Kakashi said to him. "I'd like to talk to you for a moment."

Hinata and Naruto stole a glance from Shikamaru to each other, both sharing the same look of confusion. With a shrug from Naruto, they exited the room. Kakashi was sure that the two, or at least Naruto, were probably listening in on their conversation, but Kakashi didn't see any harm in it. It wasn't like it mattered anyways.

"So, Shikamaru," Kakashi said leaning forward. "That was some plan that you made back there."

"Of course," Shikamaru said with a proud and smug grin. "That's why I made it."

"Well look at you boasting, Shikamaru," Kakashi said with a chuckle. "I'm sure that you noticed Naruto's plan as well. His worked out nicely also."

"There was a lot of risk in it though," Shikamaru said. "He's told me that his sexy jutsu only works on men who are…well let's just say unclean. If Zabuza hadn't been, things could have gone bad. Plus, he exhausted a lot of his chakra, using all of those jutsus in such quick order."

"You're right," Kakashi said with a nod. "While your plans are well thought and planned to the slightest detail, Naruto's are pretty much what pops in his head first and he does it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't."

"What are you trying to get at here?" Shikamaru asked, tired of the small talk.

"Funny that you should ask," Kakashi said. "I've heard that you have a great talent in games of strategy…"

* * *

"I swear to Kami, the next time I see Kakashi, I'll cut his sharingan head clean off!" Zabuza shouted in powerful rage. Even with the fact that he was lying atop of a bed and had bandages all over his body, he was still able to exclude a great and frightening aura.

"You're just angry that he damaged that body that you spend so much time caring for," Haku said walking into the room with a grin, fueling Zabuza's rage even further. This was not the first time that Haku had teased Zabuza about his body. The boy had one day found Zabuza flexing his muscles in front of a mirror, and he had not let Zabuza ever forget it. If anybody else besides Haku would mention that time, they would have been a whole head shorter before they finished the sentence.

"Are you just going to stand there grinning or are you going to give me those bandages I sent you to get?" the Demon of the Mist asked with a sneer from underneath his bandaged face.

"I have them," Haku said, finally approaching Zabuza and taking a seat beside the bed. "You seem to be healing up very nicely, have you been using that healing cream that I've been giving you?"

"Yes. It does the job nicely," Zabuza said as he unwrapped one of the bandages that was around his arm and replaced it with a new one. "I still don't know how you ever learned all of these healing practices. You're no medic nin."

"You'd be amazed what are in those scrolls you never open up anymore," Haku said laughing. "You never know what kind of information could come in handy in any situation."

"Speaking of information, Haku, I have a mission for you," Zabuza said looking at the teen next to him out of the corner of his eye. Haku's face turned to confusion, though he remained quiet for Zabuza to continue. "You remember those Genin punks that were traveling with Kakashi, right?"

"Yes," Haku said with a nod. "They all seem to have exceptional teamwork with each other. Not to mention that they were able to defeat your mizu bushin. Though I must admit, they did it in a very unorthodox fashion," Haku chuckled.

"It merely caught me by surprise," Zabuza said with a slight flush coming to his face. "We're getting off topic. The thing is that those Genin all have some sort of special ability of some kind. They survived not because of their skill. They survived by my lack of information."

Haku nodded, not arguing with Zabuza. He also understood that Zabuza had worded his sentences carefully. Zabuza never says that he lost or failed. To him, you only fail if you die. If you live, things can be undone. And one way or another, Zabuza always found a way to get the job done that was needed.

"I need you to get me information about these kids, Haku. Everything from their jutsu to their shoe size," Zabuza continued, using the usual saying that meant he wanted to know _everything_ about someone or something. "Get close to them, pretend to be their friend. None of them have seen your face and the Genin were too far away to hear your voice last battle. They should be oblivious."

"What about Kakashi?" Haku asked. "He did hear my voice, and I doubt I would be able to defeat him on my own. If he catches on, there will be trouble."

"Kakashi has too much faith in his students," Zabuza said as he wrapped the last bandage around his chest. "He believes that they have the ability to take care of themselves. He won't baby sit them forever. Get to know them while he's away. Never, if it can be helped, get near Kakashi. If they ask you to meet him, make an excuse, run away, I don't care. Just stay away from him."

"As you wish, Zabuza-sama," Haku said standing to his feet and bowing, signaling his leave. "I will find a disguise immediately.

"Haku," Zabuza said as Haku got to the door, stopping him. "Cut your hair why don't you? And stick with the men clothing. They won't talk to you if they think you're a cross dresser or crazy."

Haku blinked a couple times in surprise. The reason he had long hair was because he was able to style it differently from when he was a ninja to when he was out in brood daylight. Just by letting his hair down, he was able to walk among his enemies without them realizing a thing. It was also because, admittedly, he was too lazy to cut it. Looking good was not a part of being a shinobi. What the enemy thinks of you is none of your concern. And the only teammate Haku has ever had, or ever will have he suspects, was Zabuza who didn't care one way or another how he looked.

"I'll be sure to do that," Haku said nodding, once again continuing his way out.

"Haku."

The boy turned around once more to Zabuza and found the man looking at him with unusually dark eyes. Now Haku was really confused. Zabuza was not one to be thinking about topics outside of battle, now he seemed to be debating over something in his head.

"There was one Genin that seemed to be different from the others. That short blonde one had certain abilities that…intrigued me," the Jonin said with a deep and hushed voice.

"And…?" Haku asked, unaware where this was going.

"I need to learn of that one most of all. I have a…theory about him. And if possible…he could prove to be a valuable tool for my future plans," he said. Haku was surprised. He had never heard of Zabuza proposing to add an extra member to their group before. The Demon Brothers had volunteered to serve under Zabuza, which he accepted mostly due to his lack of supporters. If Zabuza was truly that interested in the boy, Haku would have to make an effort to fulfill his wishes.

"I will try my best, Zabuza-sama," Haku said, finally walking out of the room, already devising a plan inside his head.

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me," Shikamaru said with hands inside his pockets.

"Afraid not," Kakashi said with his eye curved upwards in a smile.

"Kakashi-sensei," Hinata said, who was standing between Naruto and Shikamaru. "How will we be able to climb a tree without using our hands? And how will it help us fight Zabuza and that masked boy?"

"Well there are simple answers to those, at least after you understand the answer," he said hobbling over to the side of the tree on his crutches, unaware of the sweat drops that had appeared on his student's heads. "You see, chakra is spiritual energy that resides within your body. This energy is what is used to perform jutsus."

"Well duh," Naruto said cockily, but Kakashi decided to ignore the comment. Instead, he made a simple seal with his two hands and placed one foot on the tree. He then casually began striding up the tree. Well, as casual as he could look while still on crutches.

"How're you doing that?" Naruto asked in awe. Kakashi was pleased to see that his point had been put across when he looked at the Genin below him. He furthered his point by hanging from the bottom of the lowest branch, suspended completely upside down. A little overdoing it, but Kakashi has been known to do that often.

"This exercise will force you all to focus your chakra to a specific point in your body, in this case, your feet. You will then have to maintain the chakra to climb up and stick to the tree. Even for high level ninja, this is a difficult feat. Theoretically, if you can master this, you can master any kind of jutsu," Kakashi said with just enough force for them to get how important the exercise was. He drew three kunai and threw them at his team's feet, sticking them into the ground. "Climb up a tree and mark the point where you can't hang on any longer. Then continue to do the same thing again, and again, until you can get as high as you can get. Oh, and you might want to give yourselves a running start also."

"Iruka-sensei told me about this back in the academy, before he started giving me chakra control lessons. Hey, Shikamaru," Naruto said glancing over at the lazy boy next to him. "After I climb all the way to the top, I'll give you some pointers to help you out."

"Dream on, Naruto," Shikamaru said picking up the kunai and making a hand sign.

Naruto followed suit and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before channeling his chakra to his feet. The two simultaneously charged at two different trees and began to scale up the trunk. Naruto had to admit, Kakashi had made it look easier than it really was. After his third step, he felt his feet begin to slip, but he applied more chakra to keep him going. He looked to his left and saw that Shikamaru had stopped running after his sixth step, making Naruto smile in victory. Of course, that caused him to lose his focus, immediately causing him to fall. Naruto hardly had enough time to mark his point on the tree. When he finally hit the ground, he just couldn't pass up the chance of rubbing it in his teammate's face.

"Nine steps, oh yeah!" Naruto yelled punching the air in Shikamaru's direction. "I bet you're jealous. Huh? Huh?"

"At least he's modest," Kakashi sighed in his tree.

"You're so troublesome, Naruto," Shikamaru said with a sigh, truthfully not caring in the slightest bit if he beat Naruto or not. His eyes drifted over to Hinata, who was looking at the tree nervously, almost in fright. He had not been the only one to notice Hinata's hesitation either, for Naruto had ceased his own bragging and now was facing his old friend.

"You okay, Hinata?" Naruto asked with a slight hint of worry in his voice, causing Hinata to flush slightly.

"It's just…I don't know how I'll do," she said looking first to Nartuo, then to the ground. After Naruto had challenged Shikamaru, she wanted to impress him. But every time she began to concentrate her chakra, one of her family member's faces would appear in her mind and shout out how weak she was. It unnerved her to such a degree that she could feel her body shaking in fear.

"Hey, calm down okay. It's doesn't matter if you do well or not," Naruto said to her with a warm smile.

"But you said to Shika-" Hinata began, but was interrupted by Naruto's raised hand.

"Don't worry about what I say to Shikamaru. I just like giving him a hard time," he said with a smile and also hearing the snort he got in response from the Nara. "Here, I'll give you some tips. First, you need to concentrate on the tree. Don't let anything distract you. The second thing you should do is apply a good amount of chakra to the tree, but not too much to have the bark break. While you're running up, adjust your chakra to a point where you stick onto the tree and not slip nor crush it…"

During Naruto's speech, Kakashi was listening in silent surprise. Naruto knew much more about chakra than he had ever guessed. Not many rookie Genin knew much of the energy, only the basics that would get one by in the academy but not on the battlefield. Naruto's knowledge in the chakra field did explain how he was so adept in his ninjutsu area for most Genin. Kakashi had heard that Uchiha Sasuke, a member of Asuma's team, had an unbelievable mastery of chakra and many fire style jutsus. That would explain where Naruto learned his fireball jutsu. Just how well was Iruka teaching these kids in the academy?

"…And the most important thing, Hinata, is to say that you can do it!" the blonde said, closing his eyes and nodding. "If you doubt yourself the whole time, you'll never reach your full potential. If you want to do well, then you've got to believe it! You can do it, Hinata! You've done harder things than this before. Just go for it!"

Kakashi couldn't help but smile. Just as he had thought, Naruto would make a very good teacher. Though he felt as though he shouldn't have been surprised, he more than anybody.

"Okay, Naruto. I'll try," Hinata said nodding with her spirit now raised by the support of her crush. With one last deep breath, she charged forward to the tree as fast as she could. As soon as her foot was against the tree she felt herself slipping, so she immediately applied more chakra to prevent her from falling. She continued to climb higher, but she could already feel herself losing concentration as she kept going. Eight steps…she had passed Shikamaru. She knew she could tell that she wouldn't be able to last much longer. With one last burst of chakra to her feet, she climbed up two more steps before cutting the bark with her kunai. Ten steps…

"Wow, Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed running to her side. "That was great! You almost reached the branch!"

"Th-thank you, Naruto," Hinata said with a blush, slightly avoiding eye contact with him.

"Well, they're doing better than I had expected," Kakashi said to himself as he continued to watch Hinata and Naruto compare strategies to climb up the tree with Shikamaru trying to pretend that he wasn't listening intently on what they were saying. _Surprising,_ Kakashi thought. _These three were some of the worst students in the academy, yet they seem to constantly surpass my expectations again and again. Sure, they may have had a rough start at the beginning, but with how far they have been able to come…well who knows what the future will hold?_

"Okay, okay, you had your little talk fest," Kakashi shouted down toward the Genin, getting their attention. "Now get back to your training. I know it may be hard for Naruto, but it is possible to talk and train at the same time."

"Shut up, Sensei!" Naruto yelled up to the odd haired Jonin above him. "Come on guys, let's show this perv what we can do!" he yelled twirling the kunai in his hand, preparing himself once again to scale the tree, along with Hinata and Shikamaru.

* * *

Naruto and Hinata walked in solemn silence beside Tazuna as they continued their trek through town. Both of them had been sent to escort Tazuna back to his house after his work at the bridge for the day was complete. When they had arrived though, the elder bridge builder requested them to take a detour through the village to get some groceries.

"I can't believe the state that this place is in," Hinata said, looking at dismal scene that surrounded her.

"When I said that this place was seeing some hard times to you four, I wasn't playing around," the tanned elderly man replied seriously. "Gatou is sapping every single penny out of our village for his own profit, while we citizens can do nothing more than to sit around and wait for each of us to finally keel over and die."

"Man, that just isn't right," Naruto said in an uncharacteristic soft voice. He turned his head at a small child who had his eyes staring down at the ground, about five years younger than Naruto by the looks of him. His clothes were tattered and dirty, and he clutched his stomach in pain.

"Hey, old man," Naruto said, tugging on Tazuna's sleeve. "You have some money, don't you? Can't you give some out to everyone else so that they can support themselves also?"

Tazuna chuckled grimly before reaching down and giving the blonde next to him a friendly tap on the head. "You have a good heart, kid. The truth is that there's nothing I would like more than to do just that. But the problem is I just don't have the money to help them. Any and all of my extra money that I'm not using to keep my family alive is being put into the bridge's construction. That is the only thing I can do for these people for now…

Naruto looked behind him one last time at the boy before turning his head forward again, but still looking down at his feet. He felt like such an ass. Here he was, giving Tazuna all kind of crap during the entire mission, and the truth was that he was doing the most out of anyone in the entire village, and at the risk of his own life. There was something that had to be admired from that.

"I want to thank you two one more time," Tazuna said suddenly, bringing Hinata and Naruto's eyes back up to his face. "I lied to all of you and only paid you enough for a C ranked mission, but even so, you still risk all of your lives so that we may have a hope of a better future. I want you both to know that I appreciate all that you're risking to help us. If we do succeed in making this bridge, each of you will be known forever in this village as heroes."

"Will you stop it old man, you're going to get me all misty," Naruto said, giving the man beside him a soft punch in the arm. The old man beside him merely smiled back, and then began to walk down the street again with the other two following right behind him.

Naruto suddenly stopped as the three of them suddenly came to an ally. Both Hinata and Tazuna halted when they saw this, turning back to look at the whiskered Genin.

"What's wrong?" Tazuna asked, raising one of his eyebrows at the boy. Naruto didn't respond, his blue eyes completely fixated on the alleyway. Finally, both Tazuna and Hinata stepped back and looked down the alley as well.

"I'm telling you to give us your bag, kid," a man dressed in ragged, gray clothing holding a large crowbar said threateningly. He was accompanied by two other men with similar clothing, packed tightly together in the small passageway. Each of them had their backs to Naruto, Hinata, and Tazuna, so they had not noticed them standing behind them. Though he could not be seen well, there seemed to be a young man, perhaps a couple years older than Naruto, in a green vest with black outlining on the other side of the men.

Apparently, the boy said something that the man didn't like, as he started to brandish the piece of metal in his hand threateningly. "I don't give a damn about your 'sick friend' that you need to get that shit to. The point is that you walked into our alley and now you've got to pay the consequences for it."

"Can they really do that?" Hinata asked, looking up at Tazuna.

"Of course not," the man replied, shaking his head. "But this happens more often than you may expect in this town. Many of the men in this town are beginning to lose hope for this place. It's a sad fact, but a true one."

Naruto suddenly let out a surprised yelp as he felt a boot come into contact with his back and he fell over into the alley. "What the hell was that for?!" Naruto yelled, turning around and pointing at Tazuna angrily.

"What do you think?" he replied, once again wearing his usual angry scowl as he glared at Naruto. "That kid needs help. Why don't you make yourself useful and give him some?"

"You didn't have to kick me," Naruto said grumpily as he made his way down the alleyway.

Apparently, his footsteps had been heard as the three men in front of him whirled around. At first, their faces looked fearful, but then relaxed, probably thinking that there was no need to fear a mere child. Boy were they going to get it…

"Hey, bozos!" Naruto yelled, pointing down the passage. "Leave that guy alone! Why don't you three just get lost and mind your own business?!"

"Children these days, they don't have a clue about respecting their elders," the man with the crowbar said as he turned around and began to walk toward Naruto. "You picked the wrong day to be a hero, kid."

"Like you can take me on," Naruto said back, rolling his eyes. He quickly made his patented kage bushin hand seal as five of them appeared beside him, staring down at the men at the end of the alleyway.

"Shit," one of the men said as he stopped, looking at Naruto warily. "This kid's a ninja."

"Oh calm down," another said, cracking his knuckles. "Are you really going to let a little kid frighten you? We can take on two of them each…"

Naruto narrowed his eyes before he made the same hand seal again. This time, six more replicas appeared beside him, all of them crossing their arms and raising their eyebrows at the men in front of them. Apparently, the three muggers decided that they didn't want to take the risk. Turning around, they darted past the boy that they had been stealing from and darted down the alley, turning the corner and out of sight.

"And don't let me catch you three pulling something like this again!" all the Narutos shouted together down the passage. With that, all of the bushins disappeared in a simultaneous 'poof', leaving the three children and elderly man by themselves. After he was sure that the three were gone, Naruto approached the boy in the alley, who was now kneeling down and attempting to gather his materials.

"You okay," Naruto asked as he knelt down and handed the boy a rotten looking tomato nearest to him.

"Thanks to you," the boy replied, smiling in gratitude back at Naruto. This was the first time that Naruto was able to get a good look at the youth. His black hair was parted down the middle and fell down to his shoulders, and his face seemed to hold near feminine qualities. As Naruto had seen at the entrance of the alleyway, he was wearing a green vest with black hemming, along with a white shirt underneath it and a long pair of black pants. "I owe you a lot for assisting me back there," the boy said as he picked up the last of his groceries and stood back to his feet at full height, almost a whole head taller than Naruto.

"Even though he didn't do that much anyways," Tazuna said, approaching the two with Hinata walking beside him.

"Mr. Tazuna, you were the one who pushed him down the alley," Hinata said, a small sweat drop appearing on the back of her blue haired head. Looking back at the boy, she gave a polite nod to him as he gave one back to her.

"Forgive me for asking," the boy said, looking at the three in turn, "but I don't seem to know any of your names."

"Oh, yeah," Naruto said with an embarrassed smile. "Sorry about that. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, I'm a shinobi from Konohakagure. This is my teammate, Hinata," the Genin said, motioning to Hinata, "and this is our cheap ass employer, Tazuna."

"I thought I explained all of that to you just now," the older man said, narrowing his eyes Naruto. He turned his head back to the new boy, looking slightly worried for him. "Are you alright? Did those guys rough you up?"

"Oh no, you stopped them before any of that could happen," the boy said, waving his hand in reassurance.

"I'm glad to hear it," Tazuna said with a nod. "Would you like to join us for dinner? We may not have much food, but we have enough to feed you if you want."

For a moment, the boy looked warily at the three, but his calm demeanor was back the next second. Naruto just shook it off, thinking it was nothing. "Thank you for the offer," the boy said with a polite bow, "but I must politely decline. Thank you for the offer though."

"Well, you're welcome to come by any time if you wish," Tazuna said. "You can't miss my house. It's just outside of town on the edge of Mikomi Lake. You should come by if you have the time."

"I may take you up on that offer," the boy said, bowing politely once more. "Now, if you excuse me, I must return to my master. If I don't get his dinner done in time, he tends to become a little cranky." With a smile and a wave of his hand, the boy began to walk down the opposite direction of the alleyway, away from the three behind him.

"Hey, wait a second!" Naruto called after. The boy turned around at Naruto's voice, facing him with a confused look on his face. "It's just…you haven't even told us _your _name yet."

"Oh, yes," the boy said back, smiling embarrassedly back at them. "How impolite of me. My name is Haku. I hope to see you three again soon."

"You too, Haku," Hinata said smiling at the boy. Again, the boy gave the three one last smile and made his way down the passage.

"Well, now that that's done," Tazuna said, straightening his hat as he turned around. "Let's get back home. I sometimes get a little cranky too if I don't get my food."

"And we definitely don't want to see Tazuna cranky, huh Hinata?" Naruto asked Hinata softly. The Hyuuga beside him giggled at the comment, even as the blonde received a quick bonk on the back of his head.

* * *

"Alright, break time," Shikamaru said after his last run up the tree. He immediately found a nice patch of shade that covered his face but not his legs, giving him the perfect temperature for sleeping. He could already feel himself dozing off.

"Don't tell me your stopping already," Naruto said as he landed next to his teammate, only just getting done with climbing halfway up his tree and then making his way down again. "We've only been training for a little over an hour."

"Be quiet. I'm sleeping," the Nara said, showing Naruto his back and signaling the end of their conversation.

Hinata had joined the two when she noticed that they had both stopped. Though Naruto was still trying to prod Shikamaru from his sleep with a large stick, it was obvious that Naruto was only doing this so that he too could take a breather also. They had not expected Kakashi's training to be so difficult. He had brought them out around six o clock in the morning to start their training once more. None of them noticed that Kakashi had disappeared until half an hour had already passed, leaving the Genin to train alone.

It wasn't as if they had not been training at all without their sensei. During the last two nights, Kakashi had brought them out to do some one on one training with him. Kakashi had been doing a combination of ninjutsu and taijutsu training with her. He had told her that to use her jyuuken fighting to the best of her ability she also would need to understand taijutsu and how to counter it. Her current ninjutsu training she found was the most fun, yet tiring. Kakashi was letting her try out different types to see which ones she was good at. Though her skill with earth and wind jutsu seemed lacking, she had found out that she had some skill with lightning jutsu. After the second day, he had told her that he would teach her a couple lightning affinity jutsus **(hint hint Uwe Dierks)**. She wasn't able to pull them off on the first try, but Kakashi had said that they would continue to work on them.

Naruto seemed to have the most grueling training out of all of them. Each time he would come back looking completely exhausted, but still smiling every time. He could now make four extra kage bushins without wasting too much chakra, a dramatic improvement for such an advanced level jutsu. Hinata also noticed that the blonde seemed to be become faster and faster every single day, though he was still definitely no Sasuke or Kiba.

Shikamaru was on the same training schedule as Hinata. Actually, he was the one out the longest with Kakashi every time and returned from his training sessions almost as tired as Naruto. When he was asked what he had been doing, he had simply muttered something about chakra control, than went upstairs to get some sleep. It was half way true at least, he had been working on using his chakra wisely, but when Hinata and Naruto had checked on him, they actually found (much to both of their surprise) Kakashi helping him with taijutsu, which was weird since neither Hinata nor Naruto had ever seen their teammate even throw a punch before. **(Note: Special thanks** **to Amaleea for training ideas)**

So now their whole entire day every day was to train, train, and train some more, causing all three of them to be constantly exhausted. But even though they were all tired, anyone could see that they were all making progress, especially in their tree climbing training. There were now many more marks on their individual trees from both yesterday's training and todays.

"Lazy ass," Naruto finally said, turning away from Shikamaru and walking to his tree after five minutes of trying to awaken him. While he passed by Hinata though, he gave her a sly wink. Hinata giggled, knowing that Naruto was once again in 'prank mode'. Naruto didn't start his training again. Instead, he walked to his pack and took out his water bottle, still filled to the brim.

"Well Shikamaru, if you want to give me more of a lead, that's fine with me," Naruto said as he ran up his tree once more. But instead of continuing up the tree, he ran on the underside of the first branch. With a simple twirl to put him on the top side of the branch, Naruto jumped to the tree that Shikamaru rested against. Hinata once again let out a small giggle, but Naruto put a finger up to his lips to hush her. As quietly as he could, the boy crawled down the tree one branch at a time until he was only a few yards over Shikamaru's head.

"Oh, Shikamaru!" Naruto said in a sing-song voice as he uncapped his water bottle. "You better wake up soon. It looks like rain is coming."

Before Shikamaru could even open an eyelid, Naruto poured a large amount of water on top of Shikamaru's head. Said lazy ninja let out a yelp from the sudden coolness and waved his arms around his head as though he was being attacked. When he finally came to his senses, he growled angrily, looking upwards. Naruto was only barely hanging onto the branch from laughing so much. The fact that the blonde had found the whole situation hilarious only increased Shikamaru's anger.

"You're dead, Naruto," Shikamaru snarled, charging up the tree toward the laughing blonde.

"Ooh no! Shikamaru is going to kill me!" Naruto said mockingly as he jumped from tree to tree, staying in the same area but still able to keep his distance between him and his very angry teammate. "I'm never going to become hokage nor have my twenty children. All of them. Suzy, Takashi, Lil' Naruto…I can see my headstone now. 'Here lies Naruto, killed by his own teammate'. Do you really want that, Shikamaru?"

"Don't worry, when I'm done with you there won't be enough of you left to bury!" Shikamaru shouted, still chasing after the boy.

"You wish, Shikamaru," Naruto said laughing. The blonde turned his head to take another look at Shikamaru's face, but found that he was now running away from nothing. Naruto stopped, looking around to see where his pursuer had gone. He then jumped in surprise when Shikamaru appeared out of nowhere in the branch that was merely three feet on front of Naruto. Shikamaru began to make a hand sign, but Naruto jumped off the branch to reach the ground, hopping to lose the boy. Right when Naruto hit the ground though, he knew he had made a mistake.

"Got you," Shikamaru chuckled, still in the hand sign of his Kagemane no Jutsu. The dark delight that it held sent shivers up Naruto's spine.

"Damn bushin no jutsu…Now, now, Shikamaru," Naruto smiled innocently as dread began to rise inside of himself. "Let's not do anything hasty."

"So what should I make him do, Hinata?" Shikamaru asked looking over to the girl next to him. "Maybe run him into a tree a couple times? Or perhaps you can just tickle him to death while I hold him."

"I think that Naruto will hate the tickling more," Hinata said, not able to contain the laughter within her.

"Hinata!" Naruto whined. "I thought you would be on my side!"

Another chuckle interrupted their conversation, one deeper than Hinata's. Though a little reluctant, Shikamaru let Naruto go and stood up straight.

"You mind coming out? It's not polite to spy," Shikamaru said looking in the general direction where the laughter had come from. From behind a tree, a boy stepped out. His hair was parted down the middle very neatly that ended at his neck, and his face seemed to hold some near female qualities.

"I apologize for my rudeness," the boy said with smiling. "I was having too much fun watching you three. You are all quite an entertaining group."

"Hey, I remember you!" Naruto said, approaching the boy along with Hinata right behind him. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow as he watched the two approach the boy and rose to his feet, examining the boy in front of him. "Shikamaru," Naruto said, looking back at the third member of the trio. "This is Haku, he's the one I told you about me saving yesterday."

"Forgive me for sneaking," Haku said politely. "I just didn't want to intervene with your fun."

"If you can call getting trapped in Shikamaru's shadow jutsu fun," Naruto muttered.

Haku nodded at the boy in front of him, analyzing every word, every motion, his very attitude for everything he did. The blonde, which Haku remembered was named Naruto from the other day, seemed to be completely comfortable around him. The girl next to him seemed to respond in kind, making his job a great deal easier. The last boy with the laid-back expression was unreadable though, surprising Haku. He could not tell if he was looking at him suspiciously or just lazily. Haku made sure to be cautious of what he said around the boy, just in case.

"So your name is Shikamaru," Haku said, giving a smile and polite nod to the boy across from him. "Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Haku. It's a pleasure to meet you…If I'm correct, the first part of your name is that of a deer, right?"

"Yeah. It's kind of a tradition in my family," Shikamaru explained letting out a small yawn as he talked. "We raise deer to make medicine. Kind of what you call a family business, I guess."

"Interesting," Haku said as his eyes went to the trees that the three had been climbing up and marking with their kunai. "I was just out gathering some healing herbs, there is a surprisingly vast amount of them in this area. Do you mind if I rest here for a moment while you train… admittedly, I'm kind of curious on how ninja train. We don't usually get many in Wave Country."

"I don't mind," Naruto said shrugging. Hinata just nodded with a smile and Shikamaru nodded as well, seemingly not caring.

Haku took a seat and watched squad 7 climb up their trees, slowly but surely climbing higher and higher. After mere minutes after watching them, Haku could already tell that the Genin didn't seem like anything special. Sure, Naruto had decent chakra control, but besides that there wasn't anything that stuck out to him, and Hinata could only keep going with the extra help of Naruto cheering her on. The girl seemed to have no confidence in herself, but Haku could tell by the way she looked at Naruto, he was precious to her. More than anything else. It was his support that gave her strength to go on, not the strength that she had within. Shikamaru was the laziest of them all. He frequently took breaks or flat out stopped. Though he didn't fall asleep completely, he seemed to always be nodding off.

Haku felt an emotion that had eluded him for quite some time, frustration. He wasn't learning anything about these children, only watching them climb trees. He could not tell if they had any weaknesses or strengths by watching them do the same exercise over and over again. Haku finally decided to stand and walk over to where Naruto was standing.

"How are you able to do that?" Haku asked, looking at the marks on the tree as if they were the most fascinating things he had ever seen in his life. "I've never tried before, but I doubt I'd be able run up a tree that high," he said laughing.

"Well, it's a little thing that we ninja use called chakra," Naruto explained, feeling pretty important that, for once, he was the one teaching someone something and not the other way around. "It's a kind of spiritual energy that is inside our bodies. We use it to use jutsu and do other things, such as stick to trees such as these."

Haku saw his opening and took it. "I've heard that there are different kinds of jutsus that ninja can learn. Really powerful ones…could you perhaps tell me some of yours?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head before looking back at Shikamaru and Hinata who had stopped as well to take part in the conversation. "Well, we all have different kinds of abilities. I have these two really great moves that I can do. The first one is the one that I used to chase of those goons who were messing with you yesterday, called the Kage Bushin no Jutsu. The other is the Gōkakyū no Jutsu, where I shoot this HUGE fireball out of my mouth."

"It's a regular size fireball," Shikamaru's monotone voice cut in, annoying Naruto but letting it go.

"Can you show me?" Haku asked, seeing his opportunity to see just how powerful Naruto really was.

"It's not a good idea to do that," Shikamaru said flatly, eyeing Haku suspiciously.

"Hey! I'll show you what I can do!" Naruto said, already starting through the hand signs. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" Before Shikamaru could stop him, Naruto let loose a fireball from his mouth and had it envelope a nearby bush. By the time Naruto was done, it was nothing more than a large piece of charcoal.

"That was really good, Naruto-kun!" Hinata said.

"I'm surprised that you didn't catch this whole area on fire," Shikamaru said sighing. "Didn't you even think of that at all?"

"I wasn't going catch the place on fire," Naruto said waving his hand at Shikamaru to have him calm down. "I've been practicing, so there was no chance that this place would go up.

Haku took note of how Naruto had acted so irresponsibly. It was actually due to Haku's own bloodline ability that the area surrounding the bush hadn't caught. With a natural looking hand sign from the boy's right hand, the moisture from the ground gathered to the bush and put it out well before it could do any more damage. Haku also remembered the way that Naruto had combined three jutsus to fight off Zabuza's bushin. A shadow clone followed by a…er, girly jutsu and fire jutsu in consecutive order, all requiring a tremendous amount of chakra to execute. Though the boy did have excellent chakra control, he lacked the judgment to use his jutsus to their full potential. Weakness number one.

"Shikamaru has a couple cool…uh, I mean lame jutsu," Naruto said correcting himself, not wanting to show that he was impressed with Shikamaru in any way. "But you saw pretty much all he could do when he was chasing me around and trying to kill me."

Haku had been studying Shikamaru's jutsu in the squabble, and he also remembered well what one of the boy's jutsus had done to Zabuza's mizu bushin. The one that he used to destroy the clone was probably the most deadly jutsu in Shikamaru's arsenal, but that still didn't mean that he could use it for long. And by the way Shikamaru had been shaking when he had preformed it, it seems to become difficult to hold someone if the one captured is considerably stronger than the one casting the jutsu. Another downside to the boy's jutsu, as he had seen in Zabuza's fight, was that the jutsu was useless unless there was light to form a shadow. In other words: no light, no shadow, no jutsu. Weakness number two.

Haku made sure not to overlook that, though lazy, Shikamaru had been able to stay calm then come up with a very well developed plan of destroying the clone _and_ freeing his sensei. There was something to respected about that.

"And what kind of jutsu do you have?" Haku asked Hinata directly. "Are those eyes that you have some kind of jutsu?"

Hinata visibly winced at the comment, but otherwise said nothing more. "Yes they are," Hinata said in her usual soft voice. "It's my byakugan. It allows me to see through objects and give me nearly three hundred sixty degree vision." Hinata closed her eyes and went through the seals before opening her eyes once more, but this time having veins protruding from the side of her head. "I'm able to see behind me, past you, even into you if I wish. Even if someone put a blindfold over my eyes, I would still be able to see clearly."

"Very interesting," Haku said nodding, this time actually intrigued by the explanation. This kekkae genkai seemed to have some similarities to the sharingan, though also having major differences. Where one lacked in ability, the opposing one gained the advantage. Very interesting indeed.

"Don't forget her jyuuken style," Naruto pointed out, going into a stance that was painfully off from the actual pose. "She's able to go WHAM! And than BAM! And then finish them off with a BANG!"

"Why don't you give him an intelligent explanation, Hinata?" Shikamaru said to the Hyuuga of the group.

"It's not really taijutsu, the style that most ninja use when fighting hand to hand combat. It is the style of fighting that was founded in my clan, the Hyuga clan. We channel chakra through our arms to fight. With the utilization of the jyuuken style and the byakugan, we are able to see into the inner coils of the body and its chakra points and attack them directly. That is why my clan is usually feared by others…"

"I…believe I get it," Haku said, putting on a confused face.

"Ah, don't worry about it," Naruto said to Haku. "I still don't understand what anything about the Hyuugas. With the exception of Hinata," Naruto said smiling in Hinata's direction, "they all seem like self centered…er, jerks," he said, trying his best to keep his language as clean as possible for Hinata's sake. "I can't imagine what I would do if I was a Hyuuga. Probably go crazy. And that is only another reason for me to become hokage! I promised Hinata that once I am, I'll change the Hyuuga so that they'll be fair to all of the members of their family. Not just one part. Someone has to get through their heads that family is family."

"Thank you, Naruto-kun," Hinata said smiling warmly. Naruto fox smiled back and punched the air in determination. Haku's face turned more serious than it had been before. The hope of being able to convert Naruto to their side was becoming clearly more impossible by the second. The boy was amazingly loyal to his friends and village, and what if he had a family? Would he be able to let them go for the path that Zabuza chose, the life of knocking on Death's door with every mission that you must carry out? Still, Haku needed to keep trying to fulfill Zabuza's wishes.

During Haku's brooding, Naruto and Shikamaru had gone back to their training, yet Hinata still remained, watching Naruto as he continued to climb higher and higher. Haku looked at her curiously, but then smiled as he walked up next to her.

"He is precious to you, isn't he?" Haku asked, smiling even brighter when he saw that Hinata looked up at him in alarm. "Do not fear. Your secret is safe with me."

"…He makes me feel strong," Hinata said blushing and avoiding eye contact with Haku. "When I'm near him, I feel as if I can go on. When he encourages me…I feel as if I can do anything in the world."

"Then he is very precious to you," Haku said, turning his head toward Naruto. "You become stronger because he means everything in the world to you. When he is in danger, you become even stronger, am I wrong?"

Hinata remembered the fight against the two Chunin Kiri nins that the group had faced during the first part of their mission. It was true. When Naruto was in danger, all she could think of was protecting him, for him to survive, for him to continue being by her side…

"I believe that he is strong because of the same reason," Haku said, turning around and walking to the tree where his basket was placed. "He fights for his friends and village. He fights for you, Hinata-san. Together, you will become strong. Very strong." Haku picked up his basket and began to walk away, but turned around once more to look back at the Hyuuga girl with a smile on is face. "I'll see you soon. I come to these parts quite often, so it is likely that we will meet again. Until then, continue your training. Grow strong."

Hinata watched Haku go, looking at the older boy in slight confusion. There was something about him that seemed familiar to her. She looked back at Naruto and Shikamaru for a moment to check on their progress, and when she looked back where Haku was, he was already gone.

_Okay, one filler chapter down, one more to go. It may take a little more time than usual because of slight writers block, perhaps in two weeks. I have an idea but I need to expand it. Until next time everyone!_

_GAZ_


	8. A Ninja's Day Off

_Hey everyone, sorry for the slightly long update. My computers stupid…as in nearly throwing it out of the window stupid, but now I'm finally back. So I'll say it once again…filler chapter. Yes, I hate them too, but every fic needs them. So, I guess we start now. In today's chapter…Naruto and Inari bond, Shikamaru voices his suspicions, and Hinata receives a shock…_

* * *

Inari shot up in his bed, awakening from his latest nightmare. With still shaking hands, he felt the cool touch of his face, wondering how something so cold could produce so much sweat. He frantically also made sure to touch his other arm and legs, just to make sure that they were still attached, unlike his dream.

Inari shook his head and slipped out of his bed, making his way to the bathroom to wash the sweat from his face. After splashing himself with water a couple times, he looked up at his reflection. He was even paler than he had imagined. That dream… A rush of visions from the nightmare flew through his head. His father tied up on a pole, dead, his mother and grandfather bleeding on the floor because he had been too weak to protect them, and last of all Gatou, laughing over the his village that was burning, while a shadowy figure stood behind him, holding a kunai up against Inari's neck.

Inari couldn't take it anymore. As quickly as he could, he made his way to the toilet and vomited. He coughed a couple times before he continued to dispose of the still digesting dinner he had had that night. His body attempted to continue, but his stomach no longer held any food, resulting in painful dry heaves. Inari shakily stood back to his feet and washed his face again with water. Then, suddenly, he was crying. The tears flew from his eyes as if a dam had broken lose. Inari tried to stop. He wanted to stop. But he couldn't.

"Why can't I stop crying?!" he sobbed. He slammed his fist down on the sink as hard as he could and paying no attention to the spot of blood it his fist had left. "Why can't I be strong? Why can't I be like my father?" He wanted an answer. He wanted a giant warrior to burst through the door and yell that he knew the way to defeat Gatou. He wanted his father to appear at the window beside him, finally revealing to the world he was not dead. He would even take his mother running in the bathroom to comfort him. But nothing happened. There was no answer, just silence. Just like always. There were no soothing words, no joking around about how foolish he was acting, no strong arms to wrap around him to comfort him. Only silence. Cruel, unmerciful silence.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

Inari started as his quiet surroundings were finally broken. His eyes traveled to the window to see that the outside had brightened the slightest bit. He wiped his eyes and stood on his toes too look out the window. His eyes doubled in size when he saw the water in from the lake in front of his house was on fire! Fire!

He soon came to realize what was really happening. The lake wasn't on fire. It was coming from an orange clad boy with spiky blonde hair. Naruto. The fireball died away, leaving the moon and stars as the only source of light. Inari watched as Naruto seemed to swagger a little from exhaustion. But when Inari finally thought he was going to collapse, the boy straightened himself again.

"Kage bushin no jutsu!" Naruto yelled. Three clones appeared next to him, yet Naruto didn't seem to be through yet. Naruto and the clones all made circle, surrounding a cardboard box that Inari had only just now noticed. Naruto and his clones then once again went through several difficult looking hand seals.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" they all yelled at once. Each Naruto blew their own respective fireball at the cardboard box, engulfing the item in flames. After another moment, the fire died away along with the three clones Naruto had made. In victory, Naruto punched up toward the sky and smiled at the once cardboard box, now only a pile of ashes. Finally, his legs gave way and he went face first into the ground.

Inari felt panic fill up into his chest. What had just happened? Without even changing out of his sleeping attire, he rushed downstairs and grabbed the first aid kit. When he got to the door, his hand froze as he touched the doorknob. What if an enemy ninja had come and he had killed Naruto? What if he was still out there and waiting for someone to unlock the door so he could kill them all.

_When you care about something, protect it! With both arms… _His father's words echoed in his head. Inari stared at the doorknob for a couple more seconds, debating whether to open it or not. Inari suddenly thrust opened the door and ran out of the house. He may not really like Naruto that much, but he was not going to cower. Not anymore.

When Inari arrived, he immediately checked if the other boy had any weapons or wounds on his body, but besides a couple burns on his skin, nothing else seemed wrong. Inari flipped over the Genin, causing Naruto to open his eyes slightly at the touch. After seeing Inari, he grumbled something.

"What?" Inari asked, not catching what the boy had said.

"…Food…"

Inari looked at the boy in confusion, but then realized that Naruto had not come back for lunch or dinner that day. Not wasting any time, Inari ran into the house and grabbed the first thing he could find eatable, which turned out to be box of cookies, and back out the door. When he arrived back and handed over the box to Naruto, the boy took the whole box and began shoveling mouthful after mouthful into his mouth.

"Fanks ra lot," Naruto said through mouthfuls. "Do ryou want sum?"

"N-no thanks," Inari said awkwardly. Naruto just shrugged and popped another cookie in his mouth. Inari took a seat and quietly waited for Naruto to talk, yet time passed and Naruto still didn't take any notice of him.

"Why were you training this late?" Inari exclaimed in question, not able to control his curiosity any longer.

Naruto swallowed his current mouthful before speaking. "Ah well, after I had my training with Kakashi-sensei today, I decided to do a little more training on my own. Hey! Did you see the last one I did?"

"Y-yeah," Inari said nodding.

"It was pretty sweet, huh?" the Genin asked laughing. "I first thought it up during our fight with Zabuza last week. Well, I guess that it was his clone and all…but who cares! It was still really cool!"

Inari had heard some stories about the fight with the enemy ninja, though it was mostly from his grandfather's conversations with the older ninja, Kakashi. He hadn't heard this part of the story though.

"But you lost, didn't you?" Inari asked. "He got away."

"He ran away, kid!" Naruto yelled, surprising the other boy at how loudly his voice had risen despite the fact that others were sleeping in the nearby area. "Trust me, that bastard would have been dead if it wasn't for that one kid showing up at the very last second. Kakashi-sensei had a stinkin' kunai up to his neck!"

"Really?" Inari asked in absolute surprise. He had always thought that they and his grandfather were the ones that had run away, to get away from the enemy ninja. "So…you guys actually won?"

"Of course!" Naruto said grinning. "What, you think we were going to lose?" Inari remained silent, changing Naruto's face into a more serious look. It was not a look that Inari was used to seeing from Naruto. His face always seemed to be cheerful and determined. Now it seemed more…concerned. "Did you really think that we wouldn't be able to protect your grandpa?" he asked.

"No I didn't!" Inari yelled back as tears threatened to flow from his eyes yet again. "You have no idea what Gatou is able to do! He is strong and all we are is just a bunch of weak villagers! He has so much power that none of us will ever be able to imagine! How can you even think that you could defeat him? If you defeat this ninja, he'll send another more powerful one. You can't win!"

"…What's wrong?" Naruto asked, surprising Inari instead yelling back at him, he was asking a question. "Why do you think like this? What happened?"

"Why should I tell you?" Inari said turning his head. "You wouldn't understand. You didn't lose your hero. You…didn't lose a father."

"You're right. I haven't," Naruto agreed. "Bu that's because I don't have any family to lose." Inari's eyes shot open in shock. He hadn't known that Naruto was an orphan. He mentally kicked himself for being so ignorant. He turned his head in shame, not able to meet Naruto's eyes.

"I've been lonely for most of my life," Naruto said. "I was raised most of my life being hated by everyone around me. I felt like I didn't know who I was. I was constantly asking why I even existed. It was really scary. Later, when I had someone to talk to, I found that talking about it helped. You want to talk about it?" he asked, once again offering the younger boy in front of him a cookie.

Inari looked back up to Naruto. For some reason, he felt as the boy could actually understand him. He felt tears once again form in his eyes, but this time, he didn't fight to contain them. Instead, he let them flow, as well as his story. The story about the hero of his village, about his beloved father.

* * *

"What kind of training is that?!" Naruto yelled. Kakashi sighed heavily along with Shikamaru.

"As I've already told you Naruto, it's to develop your ability to think ahead of your opponent. That is what sets Shikamaru apart from you and Hinata. He has the ability to both think ahead of his opponent and keep a cool head at the same time, something you, more than Hinata, need to learn."

"But this isn't even training," Naruto complained. "It's a board game. I'd rather climb those stinkin' trees."

"Too bad," Kakashi said kneeling down, making himself eye level with Naruto. "Listen Naruto, this will benefit you in a way that climbing trees could never do. You have the potential to be a pretty good tactician. Admittedly, you probably won't be as good as Shikamaru, but still decent." Kakashi smiled as he saw that his attempt to get on Naruto's good side by complementing him seemed to be working, as Naruto's chest seemed to swell up a little in pride.

"So," Kakashi said standing back to full height, "Shikamaru is going to teach you how to play chess. The game is centered on thinking ahead of your opponent and using all of your available skills. It also teaches you how to adapt when something doesn't go as plan. Don't worry. I'm sure you'll get it eventually."

Naruto crossed his arms in thought. "Fine," he finally said. "But in exchange, you give us a day off after lunch."

"This is a mission, Naruto," Kakashi scolded. "Not a vacation. We have no idea when Zabuza will be back."

"And we've been training hard for six whole days," Naruto countered. "Come on, we're tired and need to relieve some stress, right Shikamaru."

"For once, I have to agree with Naruto," Shikamaru nodded. "Come on Kakashi-sensei, one day can't hurt can it?"

Kakashi put his hand on the side of his head, trying to subdue the headache that had been growing ever since the conversation had begun. "Fine," he said grudgingly. What could it hurt? They had all mastered the tree climbing exercise and Kakashi was now just trying to keep them busy until the bridge was finished being built. "But tomorrow we're on strict business. All of us are going to the bridge and be on guard duty. I think you guys may be able to handle it now."

"No problem, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said giving his teacher a thumbs up. Kakashi half smiled from beneath his mask before waving goodbye to his two students.

"So how does this game work anyways?" Naruto asked, picking up one of the white pawns and examining it.

"Hold on a second and let me set the game up, will you?" Shikamaru said taking the pawn out of Naruto's hand and placing it on the far left on Naruto's side. "Okay, first off white always goes first. That piece that I just set right there is called a pawn. It is the most common piece in chess. It has the ability to move forward, but not backwards or sideways, and the only way it can take another piece is if it moves upward diagonally. On the first turn a pawn is moved, it can move up two spaces but doesn't need to if you don't want it to. If you can get a pawn all the way to the other side of the board, you can substitute it for a better piece."

"…Okay…" Naruto said, trying to absorb all of this information about one stupid piece. Shikamaru continued to go down the list of pieces, finally ending with the king. Naruto asked a couple times to repeat the same information which Shikamaru reluctantly gave. Finally, the board was set up and they were ready to play, but in all honesty, Naruto still didn't know what the game was about. Hesitantly, he moved his white pawn in front of his right bishop up one space.

Shikamaru leaned over the chess board and looked from Naruto's move to Naruto himself. "Are you serious?" he asked blandly.

"Just take your turn!" Naruto yelled back at him.

Shikamaru shrugged and moved the pawn in front of his king up one space. Naruto saw what this did for his opponent/teammate. It let loose both his queen and bishop to move diagonally and out into battle. Naruto cursed silently for not thinking that himself. He decided that he would have to bring out one of his bigger pieces like Shikamaru had done. He moved the pawn in front of his right knight two spaces up so that he could bring out his bishop in the next turn. Shikamaru then took his queen and moved it diagonally as far as it could go.

"Checkmate," Shikamaru said leaning back in his chair. Naruto's jaw dropped. The queen was three spaces diagonally from his king, and nothing was separating the pieces. Naruto quickly began searching the board for some way to stop this end. A sacrifice, a loophole, cheat! Anything! But he was stuck.

"You just fell for the Fool's Mate, Naruto," Shikamaru said grinning mockingly at his teammate.

"Yeah right! You probably just made that up right now," Naruto shot back.

"Look it up if you don't believe me," Shikamaru said moving his pieces back to their original locations. "Alright, it looks like I have to spell it out for you. Chess, like Kakashi-sensei has told us, is a strategy game. You need to plan ahead of your opponent, think of what he is going to do next, fake him out. Remember back at the academy when Iruka-sensei said that the first attack distracts the enemy and the second finishes the job."

"Uh, kind of," Naruto said with a shrug.

"Well the same goes for chess. Lure them out, lower their guard, and go in for the kill. Now, when you're defending, you have to see through that deception. Underneath the underneath if you will. Then you can retaliate and put your opponent in a bad position that he himself has put himself into. This same principal holds true on the battlefield. After you realize this principal, chess suddenly becomes more than just a board game."

"Since when did you get so smart, Shikamaru?" Naruto asked with a chuckle.

"I'll take that as a complement," Shikamaru said closing his eyes, though he still had a hint of a smile on his lips. "So, you want to stop or do you want another game?"

"You're on," Naruto said, setting his pieces back to their starting positions and moving the pawn in front of his king up two spaces.

From then on, Shikamaru and Naruto's first half of the day was spent playing chess. None of them ever turned out the same way that the first game did, but each time it would end with the same result: Shikamaru winning. What surprised Shikamaru was that when Naruto lost, instead of throwing a fit like he had expected, Naruto would just take a couple moments to inspect how he had lost, and then shrugged as he and Shikamaru switched back pieces to start a new game.

Another thing that surprised Shikamaru was at how much better Naruto became in such little time. Naruto took more time to plan his moves, sometimes taking a couple minutes to take his turn. Naruto began sacrificing more of his pieces to take one of Shikamaru's bigger ones. Not only that, but Shikamaru had found himself in trouble on a number of occasions and had to go on the defensive. Naruto had a way of using his bigger pieces as bait and then dealing a crushing blow with his smaller ones. Shikamaru actually needed to sacrifice his queen to stop an impending checkmate against him, which almost made him sweat.

"So, Naruto," Shikamaru said after their fourth game, "what do you think about that Haku guy that you saved and came to watch us train a couple days ago?"

"Hmm?" Naruto said looking up from the game board. "Oh yeah, him. He seemed like an okay guy and all. Really polite, kind of girly looking though…now that's creepy," he said moving his pawn forward one space.

"And you don't think that there was anything strange about him questioning us about our jutsu?" Shikamaru asked. "Some random guy who just happened to show up while we were training?"

"You worry too much, Shikamaru," Naruto said smiling. "Just make your turn already."

"Fine," the Nara said taking his pawn and jumping it over his rook and left one space.

Hinata found her way into the game room later that morning, around the fifth game. Though she only played one game against Shikamaru, which really didn't last too long in her favor, she still spent most of her time watching her teammates face each other in a battle of strategy.

Soon after the clock struck noon, Kakashi walked into the room with book in hand. What surprised the Genin was that he was followed closely by Inari.

"Hey," Kakashi said, looking at the game that Shikamaru and Naruto were now playing. "I see that you've been teaching Naruto well, Shikamaru. It almost looks like he's giving you some trouble."

"Beginners luck," Shikamaru said with a yawn, though Naruto just stuck his tongue out back at him childishly.

Kakashi's eye curved up in a smile before he turned to Hinata. "I'm sure that you heard about our deal, right Hinata?"

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei," Hinata said nodding. "Thanks for giving us a day off."

"Don't get used to it," Kakashi said turning to the next page of his book. "And don't expect it to happen again. This is a one time deal."

"Yeah, whatever you say, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said standing to his feet. "Come on guys," he said to Hinata and Shikamaru. "I know the perfect place to go for our day off!"

"Yeah, yeah, just quite down," Shikamaru said as he stood to his feet and began following after Naruto along with Hinata.

"Wait!"

Naruto turned around before leaving, facing the one that had called him back, Inari. At first, the boy was quite, but he finally looked up to Naruto and the rest of the ninja.

"I'm sorry about what I said the other day," Inari said. "I shouldn't have said what I did but I did anyway…so sorry."

Hinata looked over at Naruto, and found that the blonde shinobi was actually smiling kindly at the boy, almost as if he was proud of him. "Hey, Inari," Naruto said turning around toward the door and looking over his shoulder. "Why don't you come with us? The more the merrier, right?"

Inari looked up in slight astonishment. But soon enough, he was beaming back at Naruto and walked out the door beside the blonde, leaving Kakashi all by himself.

"Did I miss something?" Kakashi asked, once again baffled by the massive mood swings of children.

* * *

"Come on Hinata! Shikamaru! Inari is faster than you two and he's not even a ninja!" Naruto yelled back as he continued down the road forest path along with the boy at his side.

"Where are we going anyways, Naruto?" Hinata asked catching up to the blonde while Shikamaru still lagged slightly behind.

"That would ruin the surprise, wouldn't it?" Naruto said with a sly wink, making Hinata blush a bit.

Inari looked up at Naruto and back to Hinata, grinning in amusement. "Actually, we're heading down the path that goes toward the lake. Is that where you're taking us, Naruto?" Inari asked.

"Inari!" Naruto yelled covering the smaller boy's mouth. "Now you gave it all away! Couldn't you have kept quite for just a little while?"

"We found ourselves asking the same question to you a couple times," Shikamaru said finally catching up, causing the other boy to become slightly frustrated. "So far we've had no luck."

"I see you three have not changed in the last few days," a familiar voice said from down the road.

"Haku!" Naruto and Hinata said turning their attention to the approaching older boy with smiles, though Shikamaru looked at the boy slightly more warily. Haku smiled at the three ninja that he had met the other day, but also took note of the new addition to the group.

"I see that you have brought someone else," Haku said smiling at the boy. Inari, not being one to warm up to people quickly, slightly stepped behind Naruto in shyness.

"This is Inari," Naruto said placing his hand on Inari's head. "The bridge builder that we're protecting is his grandpa. We have the day off today and I thought we could all go and take a dip in the lake. You want to come?"

Haku blinked a couple times, completely baffled by how direct Naruto was being. He had been hoping to get Naruto alone and offer him to join Zabuza and himself, but instead he was being invited for a…get together? Not to mention that he was not used to being asked something. Ever since he joined Zabuza, it was do-or-die. No question. But now he was being talked to like he was a person, not a tool. Like…a friend.

"I…sure, Naruto. I'll join you," Haku finally agreed.

"Great!" Naruto said slinging his arm around Haku and the closest other person that was by him, who happened to be Hinata. Haku once again noticed the drastic shade of red that shifted through the girl's face. He looked back at the other member of Naruto's team, Shikamaru. He wasn't smiling, or even looked at all happy at the moment. His eyes kept darting from the ground to Haku, his gaze only staying a mere two seconds, but still noticeable.

"So," the Nara said as they continued to walk down the path. "Haku, you're a local around here, right?"

"Yes," Haku said brightly, "I admit that I'm a relative newcomer here in this part of the country compared to the other villagers, but I've been here long enough to know my way around the area."

"Any family?"

"Not by blood," Haku said his smile slightly waning. "But I do have one last person I consider my family. He is my guardian, my father, my partner, my brother, and my best friend. He's guided me through some tough times. I don't personally know what I'd do without him."

"Interesting," Shikamaru said back. "Perhaps you should meet the rest of Inari's family and our sensei. I'm sure that they would be more than happy to meet you."

Haku's heart began to race rapidly. Shikamaru was suspicious, this wasn't good. He still hadn't asked Naruto to come onto their side yet. If they found out now, everything would be ruined.

"What's with the interrogation, Shikamaru?" Naruto interrupted looking back at his teammate. "You're ruining the fun. Anyways, here we are!" he yelled, extending his arms as the lake before them.

"Oh, Naruto. It's so pretty," Hinata said with lit up eyes while she scanned the large lake. Though it seemed only an average lake, her expert eyes seemed to be able to detect a slight shine from under the lake. For some reason, it took Hinata's breath away, though she was not too sure why.

"I came across this when I was off practicing my jutsu last night," Naruto said. "I'm just happy that I could get Kakashi-sensei to give us the day off. I was worried I wouldn't be able to show you guys."

"Before Gatou came around, this place was always crawling with tourists," Inari said walking to the edge of the lake. "If you think this lake sparkles now, you should have seen it a couple years ago. Nearly the entire bottom of the lake was lined with crystals. They used to call it the Silver Lake, because the water always looked more silver than blue."

"But when Gatou came, he learned of the lake and took all the crystals for his own profit," Haku said, kneeling next to Inari and dipping his hand the water. "Ever since then, it's mostly just viewed as a regular lake now by the citizens."

"For a new villager, you really do know a lot about Wave Country history, Haku-san," Hinata said impressed. Haku remained silent for a second, sadly looking at Hinata in the eye. Suddenly, he noticed something wrong.

"Where's Naruto?" he asked.

"Cannonball!"

Everyone looked up at the nearby tree. What didn't surprise them was seeing Naruto jumping out of the tree and into the lake. What did surprise them were the ten more kage bushins that quickly followed the first, spraying the group on land with water with the combined splash they made.

"Come on in guys!" the Narutos yelled playfully already starting a game of which clone could keep another under the surface the longest.

"Let's go, Shikamaru!" Inari yelled, pulling the lazy ninja into the water.

Shikamaru looked back at Hinata and Haku, the look of suspicion fresh on his face. Unfortunately, his loss became apparent when three of Naruto's bushins came to help Inari get Shikamaru in the water. Hinata just stood on the shore watching three (thirteen?), smiling.

Haku turned to Hinata, almost smiling when he saw the familiar look of admiration that he had seen the last time he had met with the Konoha Genin. Yet there was a certain look in her eyes that Haku hadn't seen before. After a moment, he was finally able to place it. Sorrow. This puzzled Haku. Why would Hinata be like this? Shouldn't she happy…?

"Hinata-san," Haku said, catching girl's attention. "…How has your training been coming?" he decided to start out, not wanting to be too direct with the white eyed kunoichi.

"Very well, actually," Hinata said nodding. "We've been training a little bit more with Kakashi with our jutsu and fighting and we've all become a lot better at the tree climbing exercise. Naruto made it to the very top one time! Even Kakashi-sensei says that it is impressive. It was really cool watching…" she stopped suddenly and turned her eyes away from Haku. Hinata had just noticed how girly she was sounding. Sure, she figured that Haku knew about her crush on Naruto, but it still didn't make the situation any less embarrassing.

Haku couldn't help but laugh at Hinata's awkwardness, but the look of sadness still remained. "Is there something wrong, Hinata-san? You seem uncomfortable about something."

"It's nothing," Hinata replied quickly, hardly noticing that Naruto was being dunked over and over again by both Shikamaru and Inari under the water.

"Is it something about Naruto?" Haku asked, making Hinata tense up. "I am willing to talk to you about it if you wish."

Hinata still remained silent, deciding to instead look to the ground. Haku could feel the tension within her, it was clear by the way she hid her eyes behind her bangs and how she was trembling. Haku had been trained to know what his opponent is going to do by watching how their body was reacting, and right now, Hinata was feeling inner turmoil.

"I want to help," Haku said, putting his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. It was half the truth. He did feel some connection between Hinata and himself. Perhaps it was the fact that they both knew how it felt to have a kekke genkai, a brand that could never be whipped away. Or maybe it was because that, for once, he felt like helping someone instead of…well not helping.

"…I've been thinking," Hinata said looking over at Haku with tears forming on the bottom of her eyes. "When I learned that Naruto was on my team, I was happy, happier than I've ever been in my entire life. I thought that…if we spent even more time together, we could become more than…"

"More than friends?" Haku asked.

Hinata nodded with a blush but turned back to watching the three boys playing in the lake. "When we started to go on missions together, I felt myself getting closer and closer to him than even before, though I didn't know how it was ever possible. He keeps me going when I have nothing else. And…the more I get close to him, the more I…I want to push him away."

"What?" Haku asked, not understanding how this connected.

"I belong in the Hyuuga clan's branch family," Hinata continued. "I'm a lesser part of the family. Everything I do is decided by the main branch. I…have no freedom. I can do nothing without their permission. That includes…who I wed. They do not understand Naruto. They pay no attention to him. They…they will never let me be with him. I want him to hate me, I want him to just leave me and not care. But that's why it hurts so much. He cares about me, and that's what makes me like him so much. But I…we…"

And there it was. Haku had just found the way to turn Naruto onto his and Zabuza's side. There really wasn't any choice for Naruto. She was precious to him. He would need to either choose Hinata and come with them, or they will both die. Yes, Haku was willing to do that. He will not hesitate to go that far for the person that is precious to him. He was Zabuza's tool and anything he asked, he would give. No matter what it takes.

"There is a way," Haku said silently.

Hinata started and looked at Haku in shock. "What…do you mean?" She asked slowly, not understanding where Haku was coming from.

"There is a way for you to be with him," Haku said walking a couple steps toward the water so that his back was to her. "Your mission is drawing to a close. But before it is over we will meet again. When that time comes, Naruto-san will have a decision to make, and I'm sure that he will choose you."

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked, skipping the question about how Haku knew for sure that what he said was going to happen.

"Like he is to you, you are more than a friend to him," Haku said, turning around once more to face her. "Do you believe that Naruto doesn't feel the same things you do? Have you not seen it in his eyes when he looks at you? That look of devotion and protection? He may not be aware of it, but if you ever died, he would be torn apart from the inside out, changing him forever for the worst. The same holds true for you in that situation. If one of you dies, the other will die as well. Perhaps not physically, but a piece of you will always be lost. To be dead and walking is worse than being dead and at rest. He will protect you…no matter what it takes."

"Have you…experienced this before?" Hinata asked.

"Yes I have," Haku said smiling sadly. "I lost the two people that mattered most in the world to me…my mother and father."

Hinata's heart jumped suddenly. Her father had died also when she was young, shortly after her younger sister, Hinabi, had been born. Her mother followed soon after from a broken heart, a shameful thing for a shinobi. A ninja is to have no emotions, and her emotions killed her.

"Now I have a new precious person to protect," Haku said looking up at the sky. "And I will protect him forever. That…" he said turning to Hinata one last time, "is my purpose, and it will always be that way. Until the day comes where I can no longer fulfill my duty, I will do whatever it takes to protect him. No mater what. And Naruto will do the same for you. He will choose this path, or he shall choose the death of him and his companions."

Hinata took a step back in both fear and shock from Haku's words and the way the boy seemed to change in front of her very eyes. His eyes…they were the eyes of a shinobi. Not only that, but she could actually feel the chakra that radiated from his body. It was…cold, like ice. But his stance was what shook her the most. She recognized that stance…from the lake. It was…Haku?

Haku walked toward Hinata slowly and smoothly, but there was something about it that made Hinata motionless in fear. It was without any hesitation. As if there was nothing he wasn't willing to do. Finally, he was within inches of her. She could feel her heart beating faster by the moment and her ability to breathe seemed to have disappeared. But instead of attacking, Haku walked past her. Slowly, she turned around and saw Haku pick up the basket that he had put on the ground when he had approached the lake with Inari. Hinata began to breath again, though her heart still pounded in her chest.

"I'll see you again," Haku said, walking back to the path that they had come from. "And when I do, Naruto will make his decision." Then Haku was gone.

Hinata looked back to the water where her teammates and Inari were still playing, oblivious to what had just happened. She still could not believe it. Haku…was the enemy Kiri nin that saved Zabuza? But he had seemed so nice. Was it just an act? Was everything he ever said to them a lie? But it didn't make any sense. He never did anything, just talked. He could have killed them all if he wanted to…but instead he just talked to them. Hinata dropped to her knees while holding her head which seemed to be spinning. What did Haku want? Why?

"Hinata?!"

Hinata raise her head up to the voice as Naruto, Shikamaru, and Inari ran to where she had collapsed. "Are you okay?" Naruto asked, kneeling down beside her. "Your face looks completely white! You usually have a lot more color in your face."

Shikamaru silently chuckled at how much of an idiot Naruto was. He always noticed how red Hinata's face usually was but he never figures out why it was that way.

"I'm sorry," Hinata said shaking her head. "I suppose I spaced out for a second…"

Shikamaru looked around and turned back to Hinata, narrowing his eyes when he saw that Haku was gone. "So where did Haku run off to?"

Hinata stiffened up at the question, something that Shikamaru didn't pass unnoticed. "He left…" she said finally. "He needed to get his herbs back to the person he is taking care of."

"I hope we see him again, the bridge is almost finished," Naruto said helping Hinata stand back up to her feet. "…Are you sure you're okay, Hinata?"

"Y-yeah. I'm okay," Hinata said blushing. Her heart seemed to flutter a little seeing how much Naruto was worried about her.

_He will protect you…no matter what it takes…_

Hinata shivered when she remembered Haku's words. What did he mean by that?

"I…think I need to go back," Hinata said shaking her head. "I don't feel so good."

"Good idea," Naruto said, throwing his black tee shirt back on and picking up his orange jumpsuit shirt. "It's not common for you to just fall down like that."

Shikamaru grabbed Hinata by the shoulder before she could walk away; ignoring Inari and Naruto beginning walk off ahead together. "What happened?" he asked sternly. Not much to Shikamaru's surprise, Hinata looked away from his eyes and over to the lake. He had seen her do this many times, when either she was too embarrassed to say what she meant to Naruto or didn't want to say something. "Haku is that one kid that helped Zabuza at the lake isn't he?"

If Hinata wasn't so shaken by what had just happened, she would have been surprised at Shikamaru. But instead, she just nodded, still not looking up at him in his eyes.

"Dammit all," Shikamaru said rubbing his temples. He had been wondering why a boy seemed to be so interested in knowing their abilities as ninja. He had only hopped that the slight resemblance in height and hair color was merely coincidence. "We've got to tell Kakashi-sensei. He needs to know."

"But..."

"Hinata. He's an enemy, an enemy that knows how we fight _and _how we think. He knows our strengths, our weaknesses, everything he would ever need to know…we're going to need Kakashi's help if we want to stand a chance against him."

"…It's just so hard to believe," Hinata said shaking her head.

"But in the end we have to accept that it is. We have no choice but to tell Kakashi. If we want to stand a snowballs chance against him, we need to. It's for the sake of Tazuna's life."

"…Okay" Hinata said giving up. "But…let's wait until tomorrow morning."

"Why?" Shikamaru asked.

"I don't know," Hinata said truthfully. "I just have a lot on my mind. I can't do it today."

"Fine…fine…" Shikamaru sighed as he began to follow Naruto on the path. Though he felt slightly sad by how hard Hinata seemed to be taking this whole thing, he couldn't help but fear what this could mean for them. Now not only does Zabuza know about Kakashi's sharingan, he knows about their jutsu as well. This mission just gets more troublesome by the minute.

* * *

_Finally! It's done! My long crappy filler chapter is done! Unfortunately, I had to put it in because it had some key information that ties into later chapters. But finally, FINALLY I can get to the battle on the bridge, only one more step closer to the Chunin Exams! I already have all the battles planned out…I know that I shouldn't be thinking that far ahead but I really can't help it. And more good news! It's spring vacation! That means I should have more time to write. My goal: The next chapter by Wednesday. I've already started it so I'm feeling pretty good. Next chapter is the first of Zabuza and Haku's rematch against the new Team 7, so time is running out for jutsu ideas for either Haku, Zabuza, or Team 7. Well, later everybody._

_**GAZ**_


	9. The Rematch

_Man…I'm beat. I'm actually surprised that I was able to do this in the amount of time I gave myself. Note to self: never give a time frame EVER again. Well, here it is, the first part of the rematch against Haku and Zabuza. Hope you enjoy it!_

_And since I'm still getting reviews saying that Hinata is in the main family, I'm putting this in. Hinata, in my fic, is from the branch family. She and Neji's places are switched in my fic, so he's in the main branch. So, I hope that clears some stuff up for everybody._

* * *

Haku lay silently in bed as the first speck of the rising sun's light illuminated his face, yet instead of welcoming the warmth of the morning, he turned his back to the window trying to pretend that it was still night. That he still had a long time to go before the morning began.

Usually, he would get out of bed and prepare breakfast as quickly as he could. Even though Haku was a shinobi to be feared and had killed many in his own relatively short life, there was nothing that he feared more than Zabuza's cooking. The first time he ate the swordsman's beef stew, he was stuck in bed for well over a week. From then on he made sure that he awoke earlier than Zabuza so that he would not need to go through the same traumatic experience again.

But he didn't feel hungry that morning. Instead, he felt like a large,heavy rock was sitting in the middle of his stomach. The feeling wasn't foreign to Haku. He had felt the same way many times before. It came from the knowledge that something was about to end, during the day that his mission was scheduled to be complete. The problem was that it wasn't the end of the mission that Haku dreaded. No. It's because he knew that today would be the end of another's life.

Haku knew that the bridge builder will not survive the day with the plan that he and Zabuza had put together. When it came down to it, it wasn't that complicated. Haku would get Naruto and Hinata out of the way one way or another, Zabuza would take out Kakashi and, if need be, they'll take down Shikamaru. No detail had been overlooked. Everything Haku had learned about the Genin had been put into careful thought, and the only thing that made Kakashi a threat was his sharingan, which Zabuza will be able to defeat very quickly.

Haku's thoughts were interrupted when he heard the door to his room open. He shifted his eyes to the door and saw Zabuza just barely peek through the doorway. "Get up," Zabuza's monotone voice echoed into his room. Not as a request, but as an order. "Get your equipment and hurry out. We leave in ten minutes."

Haku got up without even flinching a bit at Zabuza's seemingly cool attitude. Haku wasn't the only one who changed slightly on the last day of a mission. It was on days like these that Zabuza became like that, straight forward and to the point. Zabuza wasn't one to ask. He knew when something needed to be done. No questions.

Haku slowly got up out of bed and changed into his shinobi robe and grabbed his senbon/kunai pouch. Last of all, he grabbed his mask and for the first time in a while, he took some time to look at it. It was a very simple mask. All white with small slits for the eyes below the symbol for Kirikagure, along with a couple red jagged lines going across his lower half. He smiled, remembering that it was the only "gift" Zabuza had ever given him. It wasn't as much of a gift as it was a needed tool, much like he was. Though Zabuza's name was popular in the ninja community, Haku's was a relatively non existent shinobi. He was never registered as a ninja and, officially, wasn't even a legal Genin. But that was what gave Haku an advantage. None knew anything about him with the minor exception of Zabuza, making the enemy constantly guess what he is capable of. The mask also concealed his identity to assure that it stayed that way. Zabuza had told him to throw it away after their failed assassination attempt of the Mizukage, saying that it was no longer needed, yet Haku kept it anyway. It reminded him of how much use he was to Zabuza. It showed him that he was needed, despite not ever being told it. But the knowledge alone was good enough for him.

Haku slipped the mask on his face and walked outside his room to meet Zabuza. The Demon of the Hidden Mist was quietly leaning against the wall, patiently waiting for Haku. When Haku entered the room, Zabuza's eyes shifted over to him.

"I'm ready," Haku said, making sure that his voice didn't betray how confused he felt.

"Then let's finish this," Zabuza said, heading toward the door.

Haku followed closely, like a dog following his master. Inwardly, he was praying to any and all gods to have all go as plan. If he could help it, Haku didn't want more deaths than there was necessary that morning.

* * *

"Just how sure are you?" Kakashi asked in a whisper. Naruto along with Tazuna's family were only one room away in the kitchen and so far, the four seemed completely content. He did not want their peace to be interrupted. Ignorance was a form of bliss after all.

"I-I'm almost one hundred percent sure, K-Kakashi-sensei," Hinata stammered in an even more hushed voice than Kakashi. Her legs were shaking along with her hands that were gripped together in front of her chest. Her face looked as white as her blank eyes. Kakashi had never seen Hinata look so worked up before.

"She's been like this ever since we got back," Shikamaru explained. "I think the shock of realizing Haku was…not on our side was a little much for her."

'A little much' was probably the understatement of the year. Kakashi sighed, realizing that they were probably in more danger now than they have ever been in their life.

"Why didn't you tell me about him?" Kakahsi asked.

"He looked a little different from the boy we saw on the lake," Hinata explained. "And he was really nice. I didn't think that there was anything to worry about."

"**_We_** didn't think there was anything to worry about," Shikamaru corrected, making sure that Hinata didn't feel as if the whole thing was her fault alone. "Naruto and I should have been more suspicious about a boy that wanted to know all of our jutsus."

"Did he give any reason why he never attacked?" Kakashi asked. "Though you three have shown some progress since you left the academy, you three probably wouldn't stand a chance against him. Why was he only gathering information about how you fight?"

"He…he didn't say," Hinata lied, looking away from her sensei's eyes. Kakashi let out yet another sigh. It was only too obvious that Hinata was lying through her teeth, but there was too much to worry about then. He needed to devise a strategy and fast. The odds were stacked even worse against them than they were a week ago.

"So what do we do?" Shikamaru asked.

"Go about our business as if nothing is happening. Tazuna and his family have enough to worry about. We'll tell Naruto when he's away from Inari. You'd think the two were brothers with how much they hang out with each other."

Shikamaru and Hinata nodded and followed their sensei into the kitchen. Naruto and Inari were busy arguing whether ramen was a good breakfast meal or not. Though Inari seemed to have logic on his side and was clearly winning.

"Yeah well, they say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day you know! And eating ramen will make you big and strong, just like me!" Naruto said jabbing his thumb at his chest.

"Yeah right," Inari said shaking his head. "Hinata and Shikamaru are both taller than you! I doubt they eat ramen every single day!"

"So just think about how much of a small fry I would have been without ramen," Naruto said nodding, figuring that he had the other boy beaten. "Who knows how short I could have been."

"Can't you shut him up for a little while, Kakashi-sensei?" Shikamaru asked joining the other two and dropping his forehead onto the table.

"Let's face it, there's no way in the world we can shut that kid up," Tazuna said shaking his head and taking a gulp of his coffee. "He'd talk to a dead animal if no one else was around."

"I'm just glad that Inari is back to his old self," Tsunami said smiling. "I haven't seen him so happy for such a long time."

"At least one of us is happy," Tazuna said putting his coffee cup down on the table and looking out the window. "It's going to be torture on the bridge today with all this fog outside. And with the heat that is predicted I'd be surprised if anybody will come to work today."

"You shouldn't be so pessimistic, Dad," Tsunami said, swatting the elder bridge builder in the back of the head with a rolled up newspaper while passing by. "You'll set a bad example for Inari."

"Fine," Tazuna grumbled, deciding to take a bite of his toast instead of arguing.

Three knocks sounded on the front door.

"There's the milkman," Tsunami said from her stove. "Inari, could you be a dear and get that for me?"

"Okay, Mom," Inari said, jumping from his seat and into the hallway while Naruto was trying one more time to convince Inari that ramen was good for you.

"Make sure to tip the man," Tsunami called after him before going back to her pancakes. "To be working on a day like this is horrible."

"So you feel sorry for the milkman but you yell at me for complaining about the weather?" Tazuna asked, almost sounding hurt. "What a disrespectful daughter I've raised."

"Ah, suck it up," Tsunami said putting some pancakes on a plate and walking over to the table. Naruto snickered at the old man, thinking that the way that Tazuna was being put in his place by his own daughter was hilarious. His snickering stopped though as a scream sounded through the entire house. Everyone who had been sitting down suddenly jumped up to their feet in surprise.

"That sounded like, Inari," Hinata said worriedly. The plate that Tsunami had been holding crashed to the ground as she rushed to the door.

"No! Wait!" Kakashi yelled, but she was already around the corner and out the door. "Damn it. Everyone, let's go!" the Jonin yelled.

"I'm not leaving my daughter alone out there," Tazuna said sternly. "I'm coming too."

"Fine," Kakashi said, not wanting to waste time with arguing. "Just stay close and do exactly as we say."

Kakashi and his team ran out the door and into the fog. Kakashi could have hit himself for being so dimwitted. This was no fog, it was mist. How could he have let that past so easily. When they left the house, Tsunami was yelling frantically for her son, gripping the boy's hat in her hand which she had found on the ground.

"Inari!" Tsunami yelled in panic into the fog. "Inari, where are you!"

"How heartbreaking," a deep voice cut through the air, "a woman crying out for her son. Almost makes me feel sad."

The mist suddenly began to recede slightly, revealing Zabuza standing at the lake's edge. He had changed his clothes to a black shirt with matching pants. He still wore his bandages around his face and was bending over with both hands on his sword's hilt, ready to attack.

"Where is my son?!" Tsunami yelled at Zabuza, not caring that she was yelling at a man that could easily take her life. Kakashi quickly positioned himself in front of her in case Zabuza decided to attack, though Tsunami tried to shove him out of the way.

"You should be worrying about your own safety, woman," Zabuza said with a chuckle. "You are definitely in no position to be demanding anything." Ten more Zabuza's suddenly appeared besides the first one, each of them glaring down at the six in front of the house.

"Is this all you can do, Zabuza?" Kakashi asked laughing, making the lead Zabuza growl in annoyance. "You are seriously underestimating me and my students once again. When will you ever learn? Naruto and Hinata. Take care of these, won't you?"

"You got it, Kakashi-sensei! Let's go, Hinata!" Naruto yelled, dashing at Zabuza with Hinata close behind.

One of the Zabuzas swung his sword at the two Genin but was dodged as they both jumped sideways in opposite directions. Hinata immediately delivered three jyuuken enhanced jabs to one Zabuza and it became nothing more than a puddle before it knew what was happening. With seven slashes of her kunai, another three were also mere water.

Naruto produced three kage bushins immediately after he jumped. Without any of them uttering a single word, the doppelgangers swarmed a mizu bushin together while the original Naruto charged the head Zabuza straight on.

"This is really entertaining. You really think you can defeat me? A Jonin A-rank missing nin?!" Zabuza laughed bringing back his sword to slice the boy into ribbons.

"No," Naruto said while going through a couple of hand signs. Zabuza brought his sword down onto the boy and cleaved the boy into two. But with a small poof, the only thing there was a log that was split down its center.

"No, I don't think I can defeat Zabuza," Zabuza heard from behind him. "But there's no way I'm going to be beaten by a mizu bushin that is as weak as you are." The clone felt a kunai dig deep into its back and it fell to the ground with a splash.

Naruto spun around and preformed his Gōkakyū no Jutsu on three more mizu bushins that were heading toward him. Two of them were caught in the flame but one was able to jump out of the way of the jutsu. But without even being in the air for two seconds, a kunai caught the clone between the eyes and it was no more.

"Nice shot, Hinata!" Naruto said giving her a thumbs up. Hinata blushed and nodded meekly back at Naruto. The two of them both breathed a little tiredly after the battle. Admittedly, they were surprised that they had been able to defeat all of those so easily. Naruto laughed to himself. He guessed that Kakashi's training didn't turn out being quite as useless as he thought.

"Looks like your kids are gaining some skill after all, Kakashi," an all too familiar voice sounded once again. Everyone turned back to the house and looked to the roof. Standing atop the house stood Zabuza with Inari slung over his shoulder, unmoving. Standing beside him was the boy that they had seen at the lake as well, still wearing his hunter nin mask. "Of course," Zabuza continued, "they were only one tenth of my mizu bushin's usual power."

"Give me back Inari, you monster!" Tsunami yelled, pushing Kakashi out of the way.

"Sure thing," Zabuza laughed, tossing the boy to his mother. Tsunami caught him but fell to the ground from the weight. Tazuna was instantly next to her, checking if his grandson was okay. "The kid won't be awake for an hour at least. Too bad when he wakes up his grandfather will already be gone."

"I didn't think even you would stoop low enough to take innocent children hostage to get your way," Kakashi said, glaring up at the Demon of the Hidden Mist.

"Yeah!" Naruto yelled running back to Kakashi's side. "Leave Inari out of this! He has nothing to do with this."

"I'm a missing nin," Zabuza said chuckling. "If you haven't noticed, we don't really play be the rules." Zabuza and the boy suddenly disappeared and reappeared across from Team 7. Hinata tensed, seeing Haku facing them down like he was seemed so unreal. He had seemed so nice. His mask hid his face entirely, betraying nothing. She was half tempted to use her Byakugan to look beneath the mask, but she knew that it would only make fighting him even more painful.

"Shikamaru," Kakashi muttered, "stay with Tazuna and his family. Naruto and Hinata, you two can take on the kid, can't you?"

"Sure thing, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said taking out a kunai and twirling it in his hand. Hinata merely nodded back meekly.

Kakashi felt a little fear rise up in him for Hinata. He wasn't sure yet if she was ready to fight Haku yet. He'd just have to hope so. "Good," Kakashi said, turning his gaze to Zabuza. "As for me, I think that I have some unfinished business to attend to…"

"Now, now, Kakashi," Zabuza said chuckling. "Don't you think it will be interesting to see how our students fair against each other? Which one of us is the better teacher?"

"I'm not here to goof around," Kakashi growled at the man across from him. "On the contrary, I'm here to stop you right here, right now. You won't be walking away from here alive."

"My, my, Kakashi. You're really uptight today. Just relax and enjoy the show," Zabuza said laughing. Zabuza then turned to the boy next to him looking a little more serious now. "I see that you were not able to convince the kid to join us after all."

"I plan on making the offer in a moment," Haku said, still looking over at Naruto and Hinata.

"In the middle of the battle," Zabuza said scoffing. "That is much unlike you, Haku."

"I do what I must…Zabuza-sama," Haku said walking forward, approaching the Konoha nin.

"I'll take care of this, Hinata," Naruto said to his friend beside him. "I've been dieing to try this out in action all week!" Before any of his teammates could stop him, Naruto charged forward alone toward Haku. Making his trademark seal, six kage bushins appeared next to him. Three of them jumped high over Haku, which he watched dully. In the end, Haku was completely surrounded by Naruto and his clones.

"He can't be seriously thinking about using that same jutsu again, is he?" Kakashi asked with his jaw dropped open (not that anyone could tell with his mask).

"Think about who we're talking about here," Shikamaru said sighing.

"Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!" Naruto and his clones yelled in unison. Fire simultaneously erupted from Naruto and his bushin's mouths, enveloping Haku in flame. For a good ten seconds, Naruto continued his attack. Finally, he stopped. Naruto and all of his bushins looked exhausted, each of them panting loudly. The steam that arisen from the attack still covered the area where Haku had stood.

"How was that?" Naruto asked, looking back at his team with a smile.

"Stupid," Shikamaru and Kakashi said at the same time, shaking their heads. Naruto's face went pale when he looked back at the place he had attacked. The steam had only just started to clear out. Finally, something could be seen. It looked like pyramid that surrounded the area that Naruto had directed the attack. When Naruto took a closer look, he was shocked to find that they were blocks of ice. His target had shielded himself with ice?!

"But that's…how?" Kakashi asked, looking at the pyramid of ice.

"Just like your students, Kakashi," Zabuza said, still standing several yards away from them, "my own has special abilities. He's the last surviving member of the Kousetsu clan. On his mother side, as I have been told. I have taught him ways to use his kekkae genkai like none other in his clan have ever been able to achieve. I've told you before, Kakashi. This boy is my ultimate tool. He has surpassed even my own abilities, even at such a young age. He is the perfect killing machine, willing to do anything I instruct him to do, no matter how high the stakes."

"So Haku has a kekkae genkai like Hinata, huh?" Shikamaru asked.

"I'm afraid so. I didn't expect this. I thought the Kousetsu clan had been wiped out along with their village over twenty years ago. Apparently, I was wrong," Kakashi said gripping his hand into a fist.

"Too little to late, Kakashi," Zabuza said laughing. "He has taken the lives of many Jonin. There is no way that your pathetic Genin can survive this."

_I've got to help them!_ Kakashi thought as panic began to fill within him. He began to charge forward, but was blocked by Zabuza before he took three steps.

"Stop right there, unless you want both your other student and the bridge builder to lose their lives," the Demon of the Hidden Mist growled.

Kakashi growled angrily, knowing that he had no other choice but to do as Zabuza said. The only thing he could do now was hope that Naruto and Hinata would be able to find a way to defeat the boy.

All the while Zabuza and Kakashi were talking the blocks of ice that were surrounding Haku had to melt. Naruto grunted angrily, waiting for whatever was coming next. Naruto then saw that the blocks were not melting. Instead, they changed into several small needles. Naruto then noticed the hand signs that Haku was still going through. With one last sign, several of the needles Haku had made flew toward the clone on his right. The kage bushin was destroyed before it even knew what happened.

Haku turned his head to the next clone and once again sent a barrage of needles and it also disappeared. Then the needles spread out to the three remaining clones on the field and each of them simultaneously exploded out of existence. All there was left was Naruto and Haku now, and Haku still had many more needles hovering around his body.

"Just agree to hand over the bridge builder and we can avoid any further conflict," Haku said to Naruto, though he still did not lower his needles.

"I don't think so," Naruto said, though he wished that he was more confident than he sounded. From behind his hunter nin mask, Haku sighed sadly, and prepared himself to attack.

Naruto began to move but suddenly froze in his tracks. Literally. He looked down and saw that the entire ground around him had frozen over, and a good amount of it had frozen over his feet, keeping him in place. Naruto looked up in fear at the Kiri nin that was about to attack. He was done for. He didn't even have enough time to use a fire jutsu to melt the ice under him. Suddenly, a blur of blue and white rushed past Naruto, charging in Haku's direction.

"Hinata! No!" Naruto shouted after the kunoichi, but still she charged forward.

_If I don't attack she'll **get** too close_, Haku thought. He then switched his target from Naruto, to Hinata. Haku let his needles fly. The speed that they were sent were so fast that the ground seemed to explode from under Hinata's feet. Haku closed his eyes, wishing again that things had not had to come out like this.

When he next opened his eyes, he realized his mistake for closing them in the first place. Instead of a body where Hinata had been, there was a log covered in frozen needles.

Haku had enough time to just barely dodge Hinata's first attack from behind. The masked shinobi drew out a kunai and flung it in Hinata's direction. The girl dodged it with such flexibility that even Haku was impressed. Hinata didn't waste anytime. With a single blink of her eyes, her Byakugan was activated and she was on the attack.

Haku had thought that he was prepared to face Hinata's jyuuken style fighting. He soon realized that he was wrong. The style was completely new to Haku. Every time he thought he had gotten around it, Hinata would bounce back and Haku was on the defensive again. Hinata suddenly made a feint left hook, and Haku fell for it without a second thought. The fact that the attack was coming was bad enough, but the lightning that now shot from her hand only made things worse.

"Raiton: Denkou Tama no jutsu!" Hinata yelled swinging her right arm at Haku.

"No!" Haku cried, not believing that he had fell for something so easily. Hinata didn't respond. At the last second, Haku maneuvered around the attack, only receiving a glancing blow from Hinata. Haku retaliated with a hard punch to Hinata's stomach, sending her flying backwards and also knocking the air out of her at the same time.

He was about to attack again when he felt a throbbing pain in his side. He quickly grabbed his side and nearly fell to the ground from the surprising amount of pain. He was luck that he had dodged the electric jutsu, the shock of a direct hit might have been too much to take. Hinata was a more dangerous opponent than he had originally thought.

"What are you doing, Haku?" Zabuza muttered to himself. Kakashi glanced over at his opponent, knowing exactly what he was talking about. Throughout the entire conflict, it was obvious that the two were holding back. If Haku was able to be so precise with his senbon when he attacked Kakashi, Hinata should have had no chance of being able to dodge the kunai that was thrown at her. Kakashi had also noticed that Hinata was pulling her punches. Though she was generally knew at using the lightning spear jutsu that he had taught her, she should still have been fast enough to have gotten a better hit on Haku.

"Enough of this!" Zabuza yelled. "Get this over with. I don't want to be here all day, Haku!"

Hinata closed her eyes at Zabuza's words on the ground. Slowly, she turned around and looked at Naruto. The blonde had gone wide eyed and was gawking at Zabuza. Slowly, he turned his clear blue eyes over to where Haku stood, looking as if he had not believed what he just heard.

"Yes, Zabuza-sama," Haku said. The boy suddenly disappeared from where he once stood. The next thing Naruto knew, there was a kunai up against his throat. Naruto's eyes looked over his shoulder at Haku in indignation.

"So it's you," Naruto growled at Haku from over his shoulder.

"Move and you die," Haku said emotionlessly without reacting at all to Naruto's words. "Naruto, I have a proposition to make to you."

"Kind of a weird place to ask me something, don't you think?" Naruto asked.

"You would be wise to listen to me," Haku said, pushing his kunai closer to Naruto's throat. "Let me start with another question before my main one. How do you feel about Hinata?"

"She's one of my best friends," Naruto said as rage swelled up within the young Genin's chest. "And if you hurt her at all, I swear I'll kill you."

"Is that all? A friend?" Haku asked. Naruto, for once, was speechless. "Is she really only a friend? Admit it, Naruto. She is precious to you, more precious than anybody else in the world. You want her to live, don't you?" Haku could have sworn that Naruto's eyes flashed red, but brushed it off. "Then join me and Zabuza. He is highly interested in you, something that doesn't happen every single day. Agree and we'll let you and Hinata live. Disagree and you will meet the same fate as the bridge builder that you are trying to protect."

"You're asking me to join you and Zabuza," Naruto asked mockingly.

"If you so wished it, you can bring Hinata with you. Hinata has told me about her clan, how they will never understand you and push you away. This is your chance to change all of that, but will you take that opportunity? A different path has been open up for you Naruto. Take it while you can."

Naruto closed his eyes and remained silent for a moment, then spun his head back to Haku and spat venomously, "Get lost, Haku."

Haku closed his eyes in defeat. "I'm sorry that you feel that way. You would have made a great shinobi, Naruto." Haku turned his kunai and sliced clean through Naruto's throat. The older boy sighed sadly as he watched the blonde's body fall in what seemed like slow motion to the ground. Instead of watching further, he turned and began to approach Hinata. She was looking at him in terror. Haku could not blame her. He had just killed her most precious person. He knew that she could no longer defend herself. She will be terribly easy to kill.

"Please try to forgive me," Haku said, drawing up the same kunai that had just ended Naruto's life only ten seconds ago, which he regrettably looked back at. Haku gasped suddenly, looking at the spot where he had cut Naruto's throat. There wasn't a body anymore, there wasn't even blood. But there was a faint cloud of smoke around the spot though. He also heard the taps of footsteps charging straight at him from behind.

_It was a kage bushin! _Haku realized. He quickly spun around on his heel to defend himself, but Naruto was already too close. There was no way to defend himself.

"You won't **_ever_ **hurt her again!" Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs, punching Haku straight in his masked face with all his might, sending the missing nin spiraling through the air and knocking off his mask at the same time.

"Haku!" Zabuza yelled, watching his prized student hit the ground hard.

"Looks like you give your student too much credit," Kakashi laughed. "Poor, poor Zabuza."

Instead of being glared at like he had thought, Kakashi was surprised when he saw that instead, Zabuza began to laugh.

"Well I guess that is only to be suspected," Zabuza said. "I must say though, I'm surprised. I never thought that I, with my own eyes, would someday see Konoha's biggest secret. Or at least what they think is a secret."

Kakashi glanced over at Shikamaru nervously. It was obvious that the young genius had no idea what they were talking about, though he was looking at Kakashi curiously.

"I would keep my mouth shut if I were you," Kakashi said, grabbing his forehead protector that covered his Sharingan eye.

"Do you think that a disaster that large would be over looked by opposing villages? Oh how wrong you are, Kakashi. There were many times where Kirikagure debated whether to attack you or not while you were down. We had no idea how you were able to save yourselves, but by the way you are acting, I see that my theory is correct. Red chakra? The whisker marks on the cheeks? Not to mention the distinct resemblance between the two of them…I only wonder why Konoha never turned him into a weapon as I did to Haku. If you had, then all of you might have been able to live. I guess the great Yondaime Hokage is not as great as everyone says."

"I told you to be quite," Kakashi growled in warning.

"Surprised that I actually know about that jutsu? You'd be surprised about a lot of things, Kakashi. Oh but I forgot, you were his student, weren't you?" Zabuza chuckled. "Tell me, how does it feel to know that your sensei actually turned out to be a coward?"

"Enough talk," Kakashi yelled, pulling up his headband and revealing his sharingan. Zabuza had said too much. If any more information was given out, Shikamaru might catch on. If it was any other Genin, Kakashi might not have worried about it, but he knew better now. Shikamaru would find out if he had enough information. If that happened, then all those years of passing laws and protecting Naruto would be for nothing. "You and I are going to settle this. Right here, right now!"

"As you wish, Kakashi," Zabuza answered, grasping the sword that hung on his back and readying himself for combat.

"Shikamaru…" Kakashi whispered to his student. "You're in charge of Tazuna and his family. You need to get them to the village and away from these two. Naruto, Hinata, and I will take care of things here."

"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru yelled, swinging his arm in front of him. "I can't just leave all of you here. With the situation is as bad as it is now you actually-"

"I gave you an order, Shikamaru," Kakashi said, turning back to face the heir to the Nara clan. "Now go, and protect Tazuna with your life."

Shikamaru grimaced in defeat and turned around to face their employer. "I've been put in charge of all of you," he said flatly. "We need to get you all out of danger as soon as possible."

"But Kakashi," Tazuna said to the older shinobi. "You need all the help you can get here. Shouldn't Shikamaru stay here with you?"

"He gave us orders," Shikamaru said, giving Kakashi time to now focus on Zabuza and not Tazuna. "We need to go. Now."

"Alright," Tazuna said nodding sadly. "Good luck to you," he said next to Kakashi.

"Same to you," the Jonin replied. Then he was gone, along with Zabuza.

"Let's go!" Shikamaru said, grabbing Tazuna's arm and running toward the road. Before getting there however, he looked one last time over at Naruto and Hinata. Though Shikamaru wasn't really a religious guy, he prayed that he would be able to see all his teammates again in the near future.

"I'm sorry guys," Shikamaru said before turning his back and running down the road.

Haku stood to his feet once more and wiped the small trickle of blood that ran down his lip. Thankfully, Naruto's punch was more unexpected than powerful. It was a good thing that Haku realized his mistake while he could, or he might have been suffering from a broken jaw at the moment. He hadn't thought that Naruto would have replaced himself with a kage bushin when he was dealing with Hinata. Though Haku had to admit, he was slightly glad that Naruto was still alive.

"All of this has been a lie, hasn't it?!" Naruto shouted at Haku. "You deceived us and made us believe that you were our friend, but the whole time you were just playing us to get to know our abilities. I can't believe you would do that! I trusted you!"

"Then you have learned a lesson that all shinobi must learn," Haku said only just loud enough for Hinata and Naruto to hear. "Being a shinobi means that you cannot trust anybody. Like now, a friend that you had one day can become your worst enemy the next. Unfortunately, you learned this too late and you also rejected Zabuza's offer."

"You can take your offer and shove it up your ass!" Naruto shouted back with a raised fist. "I'm not going to betray Konoha. Or my friends. That is what being a ninja is about for me. To protect the ones I love. And since your threatening the ones that I love, I'm going to beat you no matter what!"

Naruto didn't let down his gaze for a moment. Haku could see the determination in his eyes. Hinata was sticking right beside Naruto as well. Though she still looked scared, Haku could tell that she was ready to fight with everything that she had.

"This could have been avoided," Haku said, raising his hands and clasping them together. "Makyo Hyo Sho (Demonic Ice Mirrors)!"

* * *

_More cliff hangers! Oh, and one thing: no. I'm not going to tell anybody what Zabzua meant by what he said. I'm doing something different from most Naruto fics, that's all I'm going to say though. It will be revealed eventurally...but eventually is going to be a long time from now. And for all of you worrying about Shikamaru, don't worry. He won't be gone for long. Well, the first chapter of three of the final battle of the Land of Waves is finished. Thanks everybody for reviews! And keep the jutsu ideas coming._

_New Jutsu List  
__Raiton: Denkou Tama no Jutsu (Lightning Shot): A low level lightning jutsu. The user sends a low power electric attack up through his/her arm and fires it at their opponent. It is generally used to temporarily numb the enemy's body instead of hurting them, leaving them open for an attack. Though it is originally weak in power, it can become more damaging when more chakra is applied to the jutsu. _

_Thank you Uwe Dierks for inspiration of this jutsu! I kind of reworded the jutsu since the translation of dart in Japanese turns out to be shuriken._

_Translation  
__Kousetsu: Snow_


	10. The Byakugan Fades

_Alright then, two things before the start of the chapter...100 REVIEWS!! Celebrate! Okay, I'm done. But seriously folks, thank you so much for all of the feedback that you've given me. You are all the real reasons that I continue this story. I hope that you continue to send reviews and enjoy the story. So once again, thank you everyone._

_Now that we have that out of the way, here's the second thing. As a heads up, I apologize for some unoriginality and crummy romance dialouge in this chapter, but I'll say it once again. It. Benifits. Later. In. The. Story. So there you go. But anyways, I hope you still enjoy it._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did...well everything you read in my story would happen (I know, scarry, huh?).

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_

Shikamaru was at war within his own mind. Actually, he supposed it was with his identity. After all, isn't this how he always lived, by running away? He was the biggest coward he knew. The only reason that he had become a ninja anyways was to have a little freedom. Wasn't that what he always wanted?

But today was different. He felt sick to his stomach not because he was in a fight this time. Instead, he was running away, like always. It's just this time, when he ran away he may have gotten himself out of danger, but not his team. They were still back there, facing two extremely dangerous shinobi. He couldn't help but feel like he was betraying them, even though he was specifically ordered by Kakashi to run with Tazuna.

"Damn hypocrite," Shikamaru grunted. 'Those who abandon their friends are worse than trash'. That's the first lesson that Kakashi had ever taught them. And now he told Shikamaru to do the very thing he had taught them not to do?! So much for all of that now.

Suddenly, another question popped into Shikamaru's head. What if his position had been replaced be someone else? He doubted Kakashi would run since he was their most powerful fighter by far. But what about Hinata? Would she just follow orders that willingly and leave Naruto to fend for himself? He knew without a doubt that Naruto would never abandon them. He would keep fighting and not leave until he died. Shikamaru guessed that was why he admired his annoying blonde teammate so much. The kid had heart. He would never leave Shikamaru alone on the battlefield, and now Shikamaru was doing that exact thing to Naruto.

"You're being awfully quite, Shikamaru," Tsunami said, sitting down on the bench that they had decided to rest at. Shikamaru couldn't blame them for being tired. They weren't ninja after all. Not to mention that Tazuna was an aging man and Tsunami was carrying her child in her arms.

"Its fine," Shikamaru lied. "Are you done resting? We need to get to the village as fast as we can."

"I'm a mother, Shikamaru," Tsunami said. "It's my job to know what children are feeling. Is there something you'd like to tell us?"

"It's nothing that we can help," Shikamaru said perhaps a little too harshly after seeing Tsunami draw back slightly. "The sooner we get to the village, the sooner that we're out of danger."

"You don't honestly believe that," Tazuna said, wiping his forehead with his shirt. "No offence Shikamaru, but even you say yourself that you aren't that good at fighting. I doubt that you actually expect yourself to beat those two ninja after us."

"But it's better than no bodyguard at all," Shikamaru retorted, though he wished that he felt as sure as he sounded.

"But you'll have a better chance of beating those two if you were with your team. And so will they," Tazuna said. Shikamaru looked from Tazuna to Tsunami, still holding Inari in her arms.

"I really…"

"Go," Tsunami said, smiling kindly at the lazy Nara. "Your team needs you. The village isn't that far away now. We'll be able to get back okay."

"I don't like this plan," Shikamaru said truthfully.

"But it's still what you want," Tazuna said putting an arm on Shikamaru's shoulder. "Don't worry about us. We'll be able to get back on our own from here. And even if they do get me, someone will take my place in the end and the bridge will continue to be built. Though you may not be able to see it often, there is some hope left in this town."

Shikamaru shook his head, though he couldn't help but smile as well. "Thank you…I'm just hoping that this will all turn out okay."

"It will," Tsunami said standing to her feet. "Just get going. Your team needs your help."

Shikamaru smiled at the two, and partially at himself. He was going into the most dangerous situation in his life, and he was happy about it. Shikamaru, the most logical student from the academy, was currently making no sense at all. He rubbed his temple with a smile still on his face. The only thing he could determine through all of this was that the whole world was going mad.

"Well, well, well, who do we have here?"

Shikamaru's body suddenly stiffened after hearing the voice. Slowly, he turned around to look down the path toward the town. Standing down the road were two men with long katanas held in their hands, both of them eyeing down Tazuna. One of the men was a very tall and bulky tanned man. His short brown hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail and he wore an eye patch over his right eye. Beside him was a smaller but still frightening man who wore a black cap on his head with his white, straight hair falling down to his neck. He had two lines that went down below his eyes that made seemed to be there for nothing more than making him look more frightening.

"It's funny, old man," the shorter man said brandishing his sword in his right hand. "We were going to just go to your house and kill you since that good for nothing Zabuza guy wasn't doing his job, but you've gone and saved us the time of walking all the way there. You have no idea how grateful we are."

"Great," Shikamaru muttered. "Gatou's gotten impatient and he's decided to send these two to take care of us. As if things aren't bad enough."

"Hey, Zori, what about that kid there? That thing on his arm means that he's a ninja," the taller guy said pointing at Shikamaru with his long katana.

"Don't be an idiot," Zori said beginning to walk forward while the other man followed behind him. "He's just a kid, what harm can he do?"

"Shikamaru?" Tsunami muttered in fear while she took a step back in fear at the approaching men, making the two samurai grin mockingly. The Nara didn't answer though. He just needed to wait a second longer. In his mind, he cursed the fog that was still around because of Zabuza. It was obvious that the missing nin had a great amount of chakra to be able to have his jutsu take effect from such a long distance away. Good thing for Shikamaru that a small bit of light peeked through the mist, just enough for his jutsu. Unfortunately, the two weren't close enough to reach yet.

"You two are real tough guys, aren't you?" Shikamaru said. "But do you really think that you, some samurai mercenary scum, can take on a shinobi of Konoha?"

"Watch your mouth kid," the bigger man said, slightly quickening his pace. "This can either be quick and painless or…not," he said smirking.

"And besides," Zori said laughing. "Right behind us are about fifty other samurai along with Gatou himself. Even if you do escape us, you'll have to deal with the rest of our crew who are only thirty minutes behind us. Either way your dead, kid."

Shikamaru grinned back at the man, who's smile suddenly disappeared. "Thanks for the information," Shikamaru said, forming a seal. "If you hadn't said that, we would have just kept going down the road and ended up being killed. I guess that samurai are even more stupid than what they've said in the academy.

"Little punk," the taller man growled running straight at Shikamaru. "You'll pay for saying that."

"Too slow," Shikamaru said. "Kagemane no Jutsu!" Shikamaru's shadow suddenly shot forward at the two men, taking both by surprise. Before either of them could do anything about it, the shadow split into two and caught the two samurai right in their tracks.

"What the hell is this?" the man with the eye patch said. "My…body won't move!"

"Too bad," Shikamaru said shrugging, which the two men also did, much to both of their shock. "If you hadn't gone and announced yourselves, you _might _have been able to sneak up on us and take us by surprise. But you've got no one to blame but yourselves."

"I told you he was trouble," the eye patched man said to his partner.

"Shut up, Waraji!" Zori yelled back.

"Well, I really didn't want to use this much chakra…" Shikamaru said, bringing the attention back to him. "But since you two have pretty much no control over charka whatsoever, it probably won't be too hard." The shadow that had connected to the two men suddenly shot up their bodies and grabbed them by the throat. Both gagged from the unexpected attack, trying their best to break free from the shadow's grip. Waraji suddenly dropped his sword from his left hand and was released by the shadow, causing him to drop to the ground. Zori looked down in horror at his partner and looked one last time to Shikamaru while his eyes began to go dark from lack of oxygen. Finally, he too lost consciousness and fell face first into the ground.

"Sleep tight," Shikamaru said. He then looked back at Tazuna and Tsunami, who were both still white after the experience.

"Well, at least the kid didn't see that," Shikamaru said looking at Inari, who was also still knocked out. His face suddenly turned serious and he turned his head to look down the path that they were heading. "We're trapped," he said bluntly.

"What do we do then?" Tazuna asked. Shikamaru looked down to the ground, going over his options. If they went back, Zabuza would be there waiting for them. If they kept going, they would be ambushed and quite possibly killed. Shikamaru was sure that he had just burned out about one sixth of his chakra, and that was only with two guys. There was no way that he could take on fifty.

"Well first," Shikamaru said looking back at the two samurai, "we get rid of these two. If the group coming at us finds them, they'll know that we know they're coming. I'll hide these two while you make a break for it into the woods. Stay off the paths," he said sternly. "There are probably other samurai guarding the paths back to town and to the bridge. Stay put and stay hidden, my team and I will come and find you after all of this is done."

"So you're still going back?" Tazuna said smiling at Shikamaru. "Good. Your team is going to need all the help they can get."

"Don't remind me," Shikamaru sighed. "Alright, you two get going, I'll take care of those idiots," he said nodding his head at the two unconscious samurai.

"Alright. Good luck," Tazuna said grabbing his daughter's hand and pulling her into the forest.

"Don't do anything too risky," Tsunami said, over her shoulder.

Shikamaru waved back before turning back to the two men that lay on the ground a couple feet away from him. He needed to work quickly, he had already wasted enough time already. He needed to get back to his team, and fast.

* * *

Hinata and Naruto stood together back to back as Haku's jutsu began to take effect. The same ice blocks that had shielded Haku earlier in their fight were beginning to form around the two. This time though, they floated in mid air, held up by some unknown force of nature. Soon enough, they were trapped in. Ice walls surrounded them on all sides with only barely enough room apart for someone to escape through. There was even a mirror over their heads looking down at them, blocking an escape from above. Things weren't looking good.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered, looking around at their prison. "What is this?"

"I don't have a clue, Hinata," Naruto said truthfully. "Just stay close to me. I'm not going to let Haku hurt you. I'll never let anybody hurt you, even if I have to die to achieve it."

Hinata looked from Naruto and then to Haku, who was also trapped in by the blocks of ice. He had been right. Naruto did want to protect her with his life. Hinata couldn't help but admit that she was happy that Naruto cared so much for her, but she was also scared that Naruto now knew about Haku. Did he reject the offer that Haku had talked about earlier? And if he did…were they now in more danger than they were before?

"It's not too late," Haku said taking a step backwards so that his back was against one of the ice walls. "You both can still join Zabuza-sama and live. It will be a hard life, but it is a life that you will both be able to live with each other. Leave Konoha behind and live."

"No way, Haku," Naruto growled. "And for your information, I'm not going to die here. Because I'm going to be Hokage someday, and I doubt they'll let me have the position if I become a missing nin."

"What about you, Hinata-san?" Haku asked. "Do you really want this? Do you really want it to end this way?"

"…I'm with Naruto-kun," Hinata said. "And though I do want to live with Naruto…for the rest of my life," she said turning to smile at her crush without a single tint of red in her face, "I know that if we leave Konoha, the Naruto that I know now would disappear. You don't understand Haku. It will tear him up from the inside out, and you know it. I'll just be with the person that was once Naruto, not the one that is standing beside me and protecting me. And I'll protect him too!"

"Hinata…" Naruto said, shocked by her words. He had not known that Hinata felt like this toward him. But now was not the time for these things. To get where they wanted to be, they first needed to get through the present. And Haku was the present.

"You heard it, Haku," Naruto said. "You'll never be able to take us away from Konoha. Not you, not Zabuza, not anybody!"

"You are both fools," Haku said closing his eyes. "You should have taken my offer. Now you cannot live." Haku suddenly jumped backwards _into _the ice block behind him. Naruto barely had enough time to see Haku appear in all the blocks around him before senbon needles suddenly began showering down on him in all directions.

Pain blinded himself from every emotion and sense he knew. He couldn't hear, couldn't think, there was only the constant senbon needles that whipped past him and impaled into his body.

The needles suddenly stopped flying and he found himself on the ground. Naruto struggled to lift himself to his knees, gripping his arm in pain, though he drew it back when his hand came into contact with the end of a needle that was stuck in his arm. He counted four in that arm alone. He couldn't guess how many were stuck in him right now. He looked over at Hinata and saw that she was in no better position than he was. She had only just barely started to lift herself up after the assault from Haku.

"Are you okay, Hinata?" Naruto asked, crawling over quickly and grabbing Hinata by the shoulders.

"…I think so," Hinata said, standing to her feet with Naruto. "I…can still fight." It was obvious though that the attack had taken its toll on Hinata, and Naruto knew that the same went for him. Who knew how many more attacks like that they could stand.

_We have got to get out of here!_ Naruto thought, looking around the 'room'. Who knew when Haku would strike next? Naruto was sure that he could have injured them worse than he had already. He was going easy on them, but there was no guarantee that he will again.

"Okay then," Naruto said, already quickly going through various seals. "Trapped or not, this stuff is still ice. And when there's heat, ice melts. Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!" Naruto poured as much energy as possible into the fireball. The flame hit and enveloped an entire ice block and with it Haku's reflection within it.

Naruto stopped the jutsu when he felt it was enough and fell to his knees from exhaustion. He guessed that he probably put a little too much chakra into the fire jutsu, but he knew it was worth it for getting free. He looked up and his mouth fell agape. The mirror still remained. It had hardly melted at all from his attack, the only signs that it had been was from the small amount of water that dripped off it now.

"You will need a much hotter flame than that to melt these mirrors," Haku said almost mockingly, making Naruto clench his teeth together. He wished that Haku would have told him that _before_ he had used so much chakra trying to melt it.

_Okay, destroying the mirrors by melting them is out of the question now…but what if they were hit? Or better yet, what if they were hit at two different angles? I doubt that I can get close enough to hit one even with my kage bushins, but perhaps Hinata can help,_ Naruto planned in his head.

"You need to try and break out of here, Hinata," Naruto said, crouching down and forming a seal with his two hands. "I'll distract him for a second while you try and destroy one with your jutsu. After your out, we'll figure out a way to beat this damn jutsu."

"Are you sure that's safe?" Hinata asked worriedly.

"Don't worry," Naruto said turning around and smiling at her. "Haku won't take me down that easily. I'll be fine." Hinata nodded back uncertainly, but still closed her eyes while she went through a couple new seals. After a moment, Hinata outstretched her arm and winced in slight pain as electricity began to run through her entire arm. Naruto looked back at Hinata, slightly impressed. Hinata had become a lot stronger in the last week. Looks like Kakashi was a better teacher than he thought.

"Here we go!" Naruto yelled. "Kage bushin no jutsu!"

Naruto and his ten kage bushins jumped up into the air at the mirrors while Hinata turned around and dashed towards the closest mirror to her. As soon as they did though, Haku's mirrors began to glow brightly and then followed once more a shower of needles in all directions. One at a time, each of the kage bushins disappeared, and then the original Naruto was the only one left and could do nothing but take the horrible onslaught of needles that surrounded him.

Through the pain, Naruto opened one of his eyes to look over at Hinata. His plan had worked! Haku had focused more on him than Hinata when they had attacked. Hinata was now drawing her arm back and hit it with all her might, adding a bit of jyuuken power to it as well for safe measure.

"Raiton: Ikazuchi Yari no Jutsu!" she yelled. A loud explosion of sound suddenly came from Hinata's attack, making Naruto smile. She did it! Naruto's hopes suddenly died out. The mirror hadn't budged, and there wasn't a crack on it. It was as if Hinata's attack hadn't affected it at all. Suddenly, Haku appeared out of the mirror in front of Hinata, and delivered a hard kick into her gut, sending her spiraling back besides Naruto.

"Damn, I thought that would have worked," Naruto muttered. "Hinata, are you okay?" he asked, kneeling down and grabbing her shoulders.

"…Yes. I'm sorry that I wasn't strong enough to get out…" Hinata said looking up at Naruto, looking ashamed.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Naruto said smiling sincerely at her. "We'll just have to find another way out of this."

"You will find that quite impossible," Haku said from his mirrors. "No one has been able to escape my icy prison before. Your lives are in my hands now. I could kill in a blink of an eye and you wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Why fight a fight that you cannot win?"

"You don't get it, do you, Haku?" Naruto asked laughing. "We don't quit. And we never will quit. If you don't like it, well then tough. I'll tell you what's really going to happen. _We're _going to brake out of here and there's nothing _you_ can do about it!"

"We'll see about that, Uzumaki Naruto," Haku responded, once again activating his mirrors.

* * *

Kakashi leaned backwards, just barely dodging the kunai that was aimed directly for his middle forehead. Reluctantly, he admitted that it had come a little too close for comfort. He had now realized that he had come to rely perhaps too much on his Sharingan in difficult situations. But then again, he never thought that it could be rendered completely useless before.

"Damn mist," Kakashi cursed, once again looking into the blanket of thick fog that surrounded him.

"It's amazing how much easier your opponent is after you take one single ability away from them," Zabuza said from the fog. Kakashi dodged another kunai but was caught in the fire of shuriken which sunk deep into his skin. With a grunt, Kakashi yanked the shuriken out of his body and threw it in multiple directions around him randomly, hoping to land a hit. Instead, all he heard was each shuriken land ineffectively on the ground.

"You're getting desperate, Kakashi," Zabuza said. "What would have happened if you accidentally hit one of your students? I'm sure that you wouldn't be able to live with yourself. But don't worry, you won't live long anyways."

"Coward," Kakashi barked into the mist. "Why don't you come out of hiding and take me on yourself instead of attacking from a distance? Not man enough to fight me? Is this how one of the great Seven Swordsman fights?"

"Taunts won't work in this fight, Kakashi," Zabuza said, though he sounded more amused than angry. "You won't escape this time, and this mission that you have strived so hard to accomplish will be in vain."

"This fight isn't over," Kakashi yelled.

"On the contrary, it is," a deep voice said from behind him.

Kakashi turned around and saw Zabuza standing right behind him with his sword high up above his head. Zabuza looked down at him in a look of triumph, knowing that there was no escape the copy cat nin of Konoha. The worst part was that Kakashi knew it too. But before Zabuza could bring down his sword, three kunai appeared from the fog and embedded into the Demon of the Hidden Mist's shoulder, arm, and leg. Zabuza immediately jumped backwards to dodge any other attack that could be coming. Kakashi also jumped away to put some distance between him and Zabuza. Together, he and Zabuza looked toward the direction that the kunai had been thrown.

"You really don't think things through, do you?" a lazy and impassive voice said as a figure began appearing from the fog. "You never thought that, just maybe, Kakashi-sensei's students might have been a little on the rebellious side?"

"Shikamaru?" Kakashi asked as the Genin came into full view.

"Yo," he replied, waving lazily in his sensei's direction.

"I thought I told you to stick with the bridge builder," Kakashi said, but he couldn't be too angry. After all, Shikamaru had just saved his life…much to his shock.

"Those who abandon their friends are worse than trash, right?" Shikamaru yawned. Kakashi actually couldn't help but laugh. Shikamaru was such a smart ass, but Kakashi guessed that was what made the Nara such a valuable member of the team.

"So you gained an extra Genin punk," Zabuza said pulling out the kunai in his arm. "You know it's not going to make a difference. You're still going to die by the end of the day."

"You have underestimated my students and I one too many times," Kakashi said glaring over where Zabuza stood. "And have you forgotten, Zabuza? I have mastered over a thousand jutsu. It's only a matter of time before I figure one out that can defeat you."

"Then show me what you've got, Kakashi," Zabuza said, fading away once more into the mist.

"Things are looking bad," Shikamaru said as soon as Zabuza was completely gone. "Gatou has decided that Zabuza is taking up too much time and is coming here along with enough samurai to destroy the entire town, I ran into a couple of them on our path. Tazuna and his family should be safe for the time being, but I can't really say the same for us."

"Then it looks like I'm going to have to get a bit more serious," Kakashi said, cautiously looking around into the thick fog. "Stay close, Shikamaru. There's no telling where he's going to attack next. Leave the up close fighting to me, you stay back and help if I need it."

"Let's get this over with," Shikamaru said lazily. His sensei sighed bitterly, wishing that Shikamaru would be a little more worked up in life threatening situations.

* * *

"Why will you not just accept your fate?" Haku asked. Naruto and Hinata had just begun to rise again to their feet once again after their fourth senbon attack. There were now many more senbon sticking out of their bodies and they both were panting heavily from chakra deprivation.

"Why do you keep asking the same damn question over and over again?" Naruto retorted back. "How long is it going to take you to realize that we're not going down?"

Haku truthfully didn't know anymore how long it was going to take. He was running out of chakra, the one drawback that came with his special jutsu. He could feel himself getting slower and slower. Hinata actually came very close to escaping, and Haku needed to grab her arm and toss her back in so she wouldn't escape. They had been more resilient than Haku had ever imagined.

Naruto stood at full height, trying to formulate another plan, but nothing could pop into his head. Everything he had tried has ended in failure. Each angle he had tried, each jutsu he had attempted was quickly countered and swung back at them. He really wished that Shikamaru was here. He would have been able to figure something out.

Hinata was not fairing as well as the either Naruto or Haku. She didn't have as much chakra as Naruto to spare and her stamina wasn't nearly as well developed as his. She knew that she was being a hassle again, just like she always has. Through her whole life she has held back both Sasuke and Naruto. She had expected them to kick her out of the group in a matter of days, but they still let her come along. No, they welcomed her. They thought of her as a friend and protected her. Well she was fed up with it. She made a vow that she will never hold back anyone again. With a bit of a struggle, she also stood to her feet and looked up at Haku defiantly.

"Naruto is right. You can't beat us, no matter how hard you try. No matter what happens, we'll always get back up and keep on trying," Hinata said, feeling more courageous than she had ever been in her entire life.

"Then this time you won't get up!" Haku shouted, jumping out of his mirror at them in full speed. She realized in horror that he was heading right toward Naruto, but only she could see it with her Byakugan. Naruto wouldn't be able to see it coming before it was too late.

"Naruto!" Hinata cried, pushing the blonde out of the way of the attack. When Naruto was out of the way she looked up and saw that instead of Naruto now, Haku was heading straight for her. Haku let the senbon in his hands fly. Hinata stood firmly as each of the senbon that had been thrown sank deep into her neck and chest. Suddenly, her body felt a whole lot heavier, and everything around her began to spin.

"Hinata!" Naruto yelled, looking at Hinata sway on her feet. He barely had enough time to catch her before she fell to the ground. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was coming out slowly and softly.

"Speak to me, Hinata!" Naruto yelled, shaking Hinata in his arms. "You've got to wake up!" Naruto felt a sudden wave of relief when he saw her eyelids flicker open the slightest bit. He gasped in surprise when he saw her eyes though. Instead of the blank eyes of the Byakugan that he was used to seeing, her eyes were now normal, violet colored eyes. Hinata smiled up at him when she saw his surprise.

"You look so different, Naruto-kun," Hinata said before going into a fit of coughing. "It's funny, I feel like it's a lot easier to see you now without my Byakugan…."

"What's wrong with your eyes, Hinata?" Naruto asked. "Why did they change to purple?"

"…The Byakugan is sealed, Naruto," Hinata replied in an unusually calm voice. "I'm dying."

Naruto gasped and grabbed Hinata's hitae-ate and threw it away. He shook his head in disbelief when he saw that the caged bird seal that was on her forehead was glowing green, but with every passing moment the light was getting dimmer and along with it the seal.

"…You shouldn't have saved me," Naruto said, biting back the tears in his eyes. "You don't deserve to die here!"

"Neither do you," Hinata said, putting a hand on Naruto's cheek. "I made a promise to myself that I would help you achieve your goals of becoming Hokage. I always felt so horrible that I couldn't help you. I wasn't strong enough to train with you and I couldn't teach you any jutsu to help you get closer to your goal. Now, I've finally been able to fulfill my promise."

"There are more important things than me becoming Hokage!" Naruto yelled angrily.

"I know. I suppose I did it because…I later promised to protect you no matter what, just like you've always protected me. I'm glad that I have finally been of use to you though, Naruto-kun. I'm sorry that…I can't be there when you become Hokage."

"Don't say that, Hinata-chan," Naruto pleaded.

"I'm sorry...Naruto-kun…" said closing her eyes. "And thank you for making me happy…"

Hinata's hand suddenly fell to the ground, and Naruto felt his heart suddenly stop. Naruto couldn't speak, couldn't breath, he couldn't even cry now. He suddenly felt empty inside. Hinata had died protecting him. She shouldn't have died though…She was too young. She had never hurt one person in her entire life. She was too pure to die. _He _should have protected _her_! But he couldn't.

_I wasn't strong enough, _Naruto thought to himself, punching the ground in frustration and sorrow. _I couldn't stop this from happening. I'm just too weak…_

_**You're right…you are too weak…**_

Naruto opened his eyes in shock, but found that there was no other person around him besides Haku, who was looking silently down at both Naruto and Hinata's dead body. But Naruto didn't pay attention to Haku. For some reason, all he wanted to know was where that voice had come from. It was the first time he had ever heard the voice, but Naruto couldn't help but think that it sounded vaguely familiar. But he could already tell that it wasn't friendly. It was...dark. And powerful.

_Am I going crazy? What's happening…who was that?_ Naruto asked himself in his thoughts.

**_Your better half_**, the voice said once again, speaking out of nowhere. Naruto's eyes dashed around the area. He looked up to Haku to see if he too was looking around for the voice, but he made no sign of hearing anything. **_You're right you know, _**the voice continued, causing Naruto to become more fearful of this new power he sensed.**_ She shouldn't have died. She was such a pure person. And you couldn't save her because in the end, you were just too weak._**

_Stop it! I'm sorry,_ Naruto pleaded. _I tried my best._

**_But it wasn't good enough, was it? You want revenge don't you? You want to tear that kid apart for taking your precious Hinata away from you… Don't try and deny it. I know you better than you think, Uzumaki Naruto. Come now, do you want to see this boy suffer for what he did to Hinata?_**

…_Yes, _Naruto thought, clenching his fist in rage, not noticing that instead of normal, human hands, they had begun to change into what looked more like claws of a wild beast. _He deserves to die for what he did! He had no right to kill her!_

**_Then let go_**, the voice said. **_Let me help you and we can kill this whelp together! Just say so, and you will be able to do anything that you desire!_**

_You're…the Kyuubi, aren't you?_

**_It's a pleasure, Uzumaki Naruto. Now, will you accept my power? Do you want to avenge your poor little Hinata-chan?_**

…_Yes…_

**_Then let me show you what true power is, boy_**.

Slowly, red chakra suddenly began to pool out of Naruto. Haku, who had just gotten back inside his mirrors, was now looking at the blond in half horror and half amazement. He could tell it was the same energy as before from the battle at the lake. The energy had already nearly healed all of Naruto's wounds and the senbon that were embedded in his body had started to fall to the ground. But there was something different this time, Haku could tell. This energy was much stronger this time. And it was…wicked. He could feel the bloodlust coming from the energy, the killing intent nearly froze his insides.

"**I'm going to rip you apart!"** Naruto suddenly shouted, carefully setting Hinata's body onto the ground. With an inhuman yell, the red energy surrounding Naruto shot upwards like a rocket and broke through the ice mirror like a baseball through glass. Haku's mouth fell agape. No one had been able to break his ice mirrors before, not even Zabuza. To do so would be…inhuman.

Haku looked back down at Naruto in horror as shards from the broken mirror fell to the ground. Then Naruto looked up at him, and Haku knew what true fear was. The younger boy's eyes had turn blood red and his hands had become sharp like claws. Even the whisker marks on his face had changed. They looked wild and feral, giving Naruto's appearance an even more frightening look.

"Wha…what are you?" Haku asked.

"**I'm going the one who's going to kill you…"** Naruto leapt forward from his place beside Hinata and toward Haku. The fake hunter nin teleported quickly to another mirror before his previous one was broken into shards by Naruto like it was nothing more than a glass mirror. Slowly, Naruto turned around and faced the mirror that Haku had teleported to, and sneered savagely after seeing the look of fear on his face.

"_I can't defeat this! This is too much, _Haku thought in a panic._ I…I can't win!" _

* * *

Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Zabuza simultaneously turned their head, looking around in all directions. Shikamaru was looking around in fear. He had never felt anything like this before. It was inhuman. Insane! He had never been able to sense chakra energy before, and now he could nearly taste it in the air. He suddenly raised his arms as a powerful air blast nearly knocked him off his feet. What the hell was going on!?

"Is this some kind of trick, Kakashi?" Zabuza asked, looking directly at the Copy Nin, though he had already turned into a more defensive stance.

"Trust me, I only wish I could pull something like this off," Kakashi said still trying to find the source of where the energy was coming from. This was the most energy he had felt in one place for the last twelve years. The last place time he felt something like this was…

"Look!" Shikamaru yelled. Kakashi and Zabuza both looked in the direction that Shikamaru was pointing and opened their eyes wide. Red energy had completely covered the inside of a circle of floating blocks of ice and a lot of it was leaking over the blocks. All of them were too far away to see what was happening, but Kakashi knew right away.

_No! This can't be! The seal has been opened. Not completely, but still cracked. This is bad, _Kakashi thought, whipping out a summoning scroll and smearing it with a long line of blood from his thumb.

"That's coming from where Naruto and Hinata were fighting Haku," Shikamaru said, not paying attention to Kakashi at all.

"Shikamaru, stay where you are! Don't get close to that energy. I'll handle it. As for you Zabuza, I'm sorry that I can't play some more but I have some more important issues to attend to. Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu!" Kakashi drilled the scroll into the ground and a small circle of black writing surrounded him.

Zabuza was now once again looking straight at Kakashi with a smirk on his face. He had begun to worry slightly when he had heard Kakashi speak the summoning jutsu, but it was obvious that it had ended in a total and utter failure. Nothing had changed at all around Kakashi. Zabuza roared in anger and surprise as several dogs of many different sizes jumped out of the ground and attacked him. Before he could do anything, the dogs had him trapped and he couldn't shake them off, no matter how hard he tried. The particularly large bulldog on his shoulder bit down harder when he started to squirm and Zabuza could literally hear his shoulder braking.

"Always over confident, even at the very end," Kakashi said standing back to his full height. "Too bad you didn't know that I could summon my Nin Hounds under ground. Of course, it's too bad for you. For me, it's perfect."

Shikamaru looked around and saw that the mist around them had begun to disappear from around them. He could already see everything better than he had before.

"Now Zabuza, let's finish this once and for all!" Kakashi said, as he focused all his chakra toward his arm. "With the only jutsu that I have that isn't a copy. _My _jutsu!"

* * *

_Cliff hanger, just the way I like it. Naruto's out of control against Haku and Kakashi has Zabuza right where he wants him. But will they be able to defeat both of them that easily? Find out next chapter._

_Sorry people, but time's up. All suggestions for jutsu for both Zabuza and Haku are now done. But although that is true, I'm still accepting ideas for other shinobi. Remember, the Chunin Exams are just around the corner, and I have big plans for it. Ideas for jutsus will be appreciated. Well, until next time viewers._

_Explanation time: I'm just going to clear up a couple of things. Compared how he is now, Naruto is **not** more powerful than he was when he fought Sasuke after he defected from Konoha. In the American anime at least (don't know about manga or Japanese version) Zabuza said that Naruto's power was stronger than Kakashi's, but I found that hard to believe. So I'm going to put my own twist on things. The power coming out of Naruto is indeed more powerful than either Kakashi or Zabuza, but Naruto's body cannot handle that much chakra all at once. So in other words, the chakra flows out of his body instead of staying inside so he doesn't explode with energy. So Naruto is probably mid to high Chunin rank power at most right now. So now that we've got that cleared up, on to writing the next chapter!_

_New Jutsu_

_Ikazuchi Yari no Jutsu (Thunder Spear Jutsu) - A mid level lightning attack named after the loud explosion that follows the attack. It is the lightning element equivalent to the Gokakyu no jutsu (Great Fireball Jutsu). With the addition of more chakra, the attack can become more damaging.  
Inspired by Uwe Dierks, a very loyal reviewer of mine. Thanks!_


	11. Farewell

_Well, hi everybody I'm back. Don't got much to say besides that this is the last chapter of the Land of Waves arc. So why don't we cut the chatter and skip straight to the story?_

* * *

Naruto had no idea what was going on. He could hardly think, he hardly remembered what was going on around him. All he knew was what he felt. Pain, sorrow, loss, and so many other emotions that wanted to make him yank his heart out of his chest. But among these emotions were others. Vengeance, wrath, rage, and these emotions kept him going. And the more that he held onto those emotions…the better it felt. To act only on impulse and emotion instead of what his mind told him, he had never felt anything like it before. The rush it gave him was even more unreal than the power that coursed through his veins. How he was now, he could do _anything_.

Naruto also felt a sense of understanding now. He knew now why the villagers hated and feared him so much. They had thought that he would become exactly what he was now, a feral beast that would destroy anything that was in its path. And they had a right to do so! They _should _fear him! They _should_ beg for his forgiveness for the hell that they had put him through. They _should_ bow down and beg for his mercy!

But Konoha would have to wait at the moment. Naruto turned his head around and found Haku in the mirror behind him. When Haku saw that Naruto had spotted him, he activated his ice mirrors and attacked Naruto in all directions just like he had only minutes ago. But this time Naruto had the advantage, not Haku.

The senbon rebounded off of Naruto's body as if it was made of steel. Naruto squeezed his hands into a fist, feeling the power rush throughout his body. In his mind, Konoha didn't exist any more. He knew nothing about being Hokage. He couldn't remember who Kakashi, Shikamaru, Iruka, Zabuza, or Sasuke was. All that mattered was Haku, and making sure that his death would be as painful as humanly possible. Or in Naruto's case now, as demonly possible.

"**Well, Haku,"** Naruto growled savagely with an evil grin on his face. **"You took Hinata-chan away from me…and now you are going to die just like her!"** Naruto launched himself again at Haku, breaking the mirror with his mighty punch. Naruto jumped sideways by some unknown notion that he felt. The ground where he had once stood exploded as a giant spike of ice embedded itself into the ground.

Naruto turned his head as he watched Haku jump into another mirror, a feat that was once impossible had become a whole lot easier. With faster hand seals than he had ever done before, an enormous fireball enveloped the mirror that Haku was in and destroyed it from the mere power of the attack.

_What is this? _Haku thought, as he jumped to another mirror while throwing as many senbon as he could at Naruto, though the transformed Genin dodged them easily. _How could he become so much more powerful? This shouldn't even be possible._

Haku turned back to escape into another of his mirrors, but gasped in shock when he saw that another Naruto was waiting for him.

_He was able to make a Kage Bushin so fast that I didn't even notice, _Haku thought, trying to change direction but was too late, instead receiving a powerful punch into the gut. Haku could have sworn that he heard at least two ribs crack from the punch as he coughed up blood from the monstrous blow. He stumbled back a few steps slowly, but he suddenly felt a hand grip his arm while the sharp fingers dug into his skin. Haku's looked over at Naruto, who had gotten so close, and his eyes widened in fear, finally looking deep into Naruto's eyes. Haku's blood suddenly turned to ice. The boy that he had been fighting moments before had disappeared. Now, he was fighting a monster.

"**You were right, Haku. Hinata-chan was the most precious person in the world to me. And the moment you took her away, you were a dead man walking!"**Naruto punched Haku in the jaw with as much power as he could, sending the older Kiri nin flying and ricocheting off the side of one of his mirrors. Naruto watched as Haku rolled on the ground to a stop with satisfaction etched all over his now beast-like expression.

His smile died though when he saw Haku ever so slowly rise back to his feet, but Naruto replaced it with a demonic smirk and charged at Haku at top speed. If the kid wanted to keep getting up, that was his problem. But Naruto was getting annoyed. This time, he would make sure that Haku would not get back up.

With a mighty leap, Naruto hurdled himself at Haku and tackled him to the ground. After skidding for a small distance, Naruto raised his clawed hand up in the air, prepared to slice Haku's throat open with one mighty swipe. He froze though after looking at Haku's face. It held no emotion. He had the look of someone that had entirely given up on life, as if he was accepting the fact that he was about to die because he no longer had any reason to live. A sudden image of himself flashed through his mind from the time that he had not known Hinata and Sasuke. His eyes had looked so much like Haku's back then…

Naruto could now feel himself breathing once more. His heart pounded in his ears and his hand was shaking uncontrollably. He slowly pulled his arm down to his own face and looked at it, then to a small puddle of water that was on the ground. He looked at his reflection and felt himself becoming calmer. What had he become? He had allowed himself to become the exact thing that he was feared for, and he had enjoyed it. If Hinata had been around, what would she have thought?

_**What are you doing?!**_ The voice of the Kyuubi yelled in his mind. _**Finish him! He deserves to die after all that he did to you.**_

_No…no. I'm not a killer. I don't want to be like this,_ Naruto said, lifting himself off of Haku and shaking his head in confusion.

Naruto gripped his head with both hands in pain as the voice boomed in his head again. _**You will kill this boy! You are a shinobi and you will have to kill someone someday, why not just start now? It will be so easy. It will all be over in a second.**_

_I'm not going to kill someone in cold blood,_ Naruto fought back, pushing the voice farther back in his mind. _If I do kill, it'll be for the sake of protecting the ones I love._

_**Do not question me! I am the Kyuubi, most feared of all the Nine Great Demons and the most powerful entity that has ever walked upon this earth! And you will! Kill! Him!**_

_I said no! _Naruto cried out as loud as he could in his mind. And the voice was gone. Naruto could feel the red chakra disappearing from his body. After a little while longer, he felt normal once again. Well, perhaps normal was not the best choice of words. He could still feel the presence of that chakra, that energy that had come so close to consuming him. But it felt more like an echo now than a voice now. Too far away to see but could still be heard, but only barely. Naruto wondered now if it had always been there and he had just not ever noticed it in his life.

"Why did you stop?" Haku asked, grabbing Naruto by the wrist and forcing the younger boy to face him. "Why didn't you follow through with your attack? Kill me. I don't deserve to live anymore."

Naruto just scowled at Haku. He swiped his hand away but did not let down his gaze for a moment. "I want to kill you," Naruto said truthfully. "I want to take revenge for…for Hinata-chan. But that's not how I am. I don't kill people because I want to. I will kill them when I need to. To protect my friends."

"And you failed," Haku said, hitting a nerve in Naruto. "When Hinata was alive, you would have killed me to protect her. But now that she is gone, you will not kill the one responsible? Don't you feel a duty to rid that person for good for the pain that he put you through."

"…The truth is that I'm just a kid, Haku," Naruto said. "I can't kill someone. I think it would tear me apart. I'm just not a killer. I might be someday, but I'm not now."

"Then save me," Haku pleaded. He looked at the mask that lay a couple yards away from him, from when Naruto had punched him when Haku had foolishly let down his guard earlier in their conflict. "My reason to be alive is gone. I am a tool that has lost its edge, and must be disposed of. I can't live with myself as I am now."

Naruto gripped his hand into a fist and punched Haku in the jaw. Haku staggered back, slightly surprised.

"You're pathetic, you know that?" Naruto asked, this time grabbing Haku by the shirt. "You think that just because you failed once there is no meaning left in living? I've failed all my life, and you don't see me taking a kunai and running it through my heart."

"But the pain I feel is so much worse," Haku spoke truly. "I don't have any use anymore. I have failed the one most precious to me, and I don't deserve to live any longer."

"I failed the one most precious to me too, Haku," Naruto said. "But I'm going to go on living, because Hinata-chan would have wanted me to. No one will ever be able to replace her, I know that, but I'm going to move on. Anyways, don't you think you are being a little over dramatic here? If you lose one dream, then replace it with another."

"I'm taking it that you will not follow through with my wish then?" Haku asked, his eyes still pleading Naruto. "You know not of what you are doing! You think that this is mercy? What you are doing now is worse than any other kind of torture imaginable!"

Naruto looked at his enemy once more. His hand lingered slightly on his kunai pouch. Should he just do as Haku wanted? Would he really be doing him a favor? Or would he just be killing someone that was being a little too moody at one time?

"Please, Naruto," Haku said again. "It's too much pain for me to bear any longer."

* * *

Zabuza tried once more to shake Kakashi's nin hounds off of him, but his attempts ended in vain. The mutts just wouldn't let go, and the more that he tried to wiggle free, the more painful the dogs would hold him place. He could no longer feel anything in his right arm where the largest of all the dogs held him. If he could only reach his sword…

"Now, Zabuza, let's finish this once and for all! With the only jutsu that I have that isn't a copy. _My _jutsu!" Kakashi yelled, starting through a series of seals once more.

Zabuza had no choice but to watch Kakashi continue to go through the seals, until he was gripping his left arm with his right and pointing it downward. All at once, lightning surrounded him in a circle. The water that was on the ground began to evaporate into the air, giving Kakashi a mystical look to him.

Yet Zabuza wasn't wasting his time by staring at wonder at Kakashi. No. He was trying to find someway out of the situation! He was as good as dead as he was now. Kakashi's chakra was so powerful that it actually began to frighten him. He hadn't seen anything like this since he left the Seven Swordsman of Kirikagure. Scratch that. He had NEVER seen this before in his life.

"Now to end it!" Kakashi shouted, crouching down to prepare his sprint toward Zabuza. "Raikari!" he yelled as the lighting that was inside his hand grew to its largest size yet. Kakashi charged as fast as he could at Zabuza as the missing nin of Kirigakure looked on in fear, with the faint sound of chirping birds sounding in the air.

* * *

Haku's eyes shot wide open all at once, feeling the sudden jump in chakra level to his left. He knew something was terribly wrong. This chakra was huge. Perhaps not as powerful as Naruto's had been, but this had something that made Naruto's chakra lacked. Control, and that was what made Haku's heart race.

_This is not like any jutsu Zabuza knows,_ Haku thought. _He must be in trouble! It looks like I'll be able to do one last thing for Zabuza-sama before I die after all._

"I'm sorry, Naruto-san," Haku said making a quick hand sign. "But I do not have time for you to make your decision. Before I die, I just want you to know that I am truly sorry for what I put you through. So very sorry…"

Before Naruto could ask what he meant, Haku disappeared and out of his sight. The blonde looked around frantically, trying to find out where Haku had gone.

Shikamaru watched hesitantly as Kakashi rushed straight at Zabuza. This would no doubt end the missing nin's life. There was no way for him to escape. Kakashi's jutsu was too powerful, and Zabuza wasn't going anywhere anytime soon with those dogs literally on his back. It finally looked like that the mission would be complete.

Shikamaru jumped in surprise when Haku suddenly appeared in front of Zabuza. The Nara couldn't believe it. Haku was going to take the blow for Zabuza. Shikamaru looked over to Kakashi. He was going to fast to veer away. He was going to hit the wrong target.

Thinking faster than he had ever done in his entire life, Shikamaru formulated the first and only plan that popped in his head. As quickly as he could, he took out from a pocket within his shirt a small ball. To anyone that would just take a quick glance at it, they would have probably guessed it to be some kind of pill, but it was really the Nara family's secret weapon. It was a light bomb, capable of making a blinding flash when it exploded. It had two uses. The first was to temporarily blind the enemy, though it also took a toll on the one using it as well. The second was exclusively for the Nara family. The flash from the bomb was able to extend the shadow more than three times the regular size, and five times faster than the original speed.

Shikamaru guessed that he had about a one in eight chance of actually getting Haku in his Shadow Bind skill, but it was this or nothing. Not only that, but if he even did hit Haku, he needed to get down fast enough to dodge Kakashi's attack. If he took control of either Zabuza or Haku and they get hit by that attack, it would be over for both him and the missing nin he was attached too. With no time at all to hestitate, Shikamaru closed his eyes hopefully and threw the light bomb behind him at the ground.

"Kagemane no Jutsu!" he yelled. Shikamaru could literally feel his shadow shoot across the ground. Suddenly, he felt his shadow hit something hard and latch onto its captive. As far as he knew, it could be one of Kakashi's dogs, but he did the only thing he could do now. He dropped to the ground as fast as he could a split second before he heard his sensei's attack make contact with whoever he had hit.

The lazy genius of the ninja academy lay there for a moment, half waiting for the light to dim and half afraid if he had missed. His hand went to his chest and face. He was fine. The target that he had captured wasn't hit by Kakashi's attack. Now all that remained to be known was _who_ he had caught in his shadow trap. After another moment of waiting for the light to clear and hoping that he had gotten Haku, he looked up to see the results of the last five seconds.

Haku was lying on the ground, just like Shikamaru, still caught in his shadow imitation technique. The fake hunter nin wasn't looking at Shikamaru though, instead, he was looking up at Zabuza, who was staring down at the Kakashi's bloodied hand that was buried into his chest.

"Zabuza…" Haku muttered in horror at his partner.

"Well Haku…looks like this will be the one mission…that will end in failure," Zabuza said. Kakashi pulled his bloodied hand out of the Demon of the Bloody Mist and dismissed each of his ninkin. As soon as the dogs disappeared, Zabuza stumbled backwards and fell to the ground.

"Zabuza!" Haku shouted. Shikamaru closed his eyes and let Haku out of his shadow, realizing that they had finally won the battle. Haku would not put up a fight any longer. And on the off chance that he did, Kakashi would be able to take care of him easily. "Hold on," Haku pleaded to his master. "Just hold on for a little while I get some healing materials for you…"

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" a voice said from behind the ninja. Shikamaru and Kakashi looked back while Haku paid no heed, his full attention remaining on the missing Kiri nin in front of him. The man stood no taller than Shikamaru, his eyes covered in circular sunglasses. He was dressed in a very neat and business looking suit and held a cane in his left hand. Behind him stood more than thirty samurai with hands on their katanas, waiting to attack at a moment's notice.

"I presume that you are the man that has put the bounty on Tazuna...Gatou, correct?" Kakashi asked, turning to face their new arrivals.

"That's right, I'm the one who hired the failure of a ninja that's lying at your feet," the petite man said laughing. "I was told that he was the best in the business, but I guess they don't make ninjas like they used to…"

"Just like Shikamaru said," Kakashi muttered. He was getting really worried now. He was now regretting that he had perfomred the Raikari to finish off Zabuza. Even though it was powerful, it had its drawbacks since it took so much chakra. Now he felt as if he hardly had any chakra left to use to defend himself or his students.

"Well, I'm glad that you've heard of me," Gatou said snidely. "Now if you don't mind, I'm a very busy man and must be on my way. So if you would be so kind to tell me where that pesky Mr. Tazuna is…"

"He's not here, sorry to disappoint you," the taller ninja said taking out a couple kunai. He was hoping that he would be able to take out all of the samurai with mere taijutsu and what few weapons he had left, but the odds were stacked against him with how drained he was feeling.

"Is that so, such a shame," the business man said shaking his head. "If that's the case, I guess I'm just going to have to settle with killing all of you. After that, we'll just have to raid the village to find him. Sure, it may cut back profits for a little while, but that Tazuna is really becoming a pain in my ass. You understand, right?"

The samurai behind Gatou all sneered, readying their swords to charge.

"Shikamaru."

Shikamaru nearly jumped out of his pants from the unexpected voice. He turned around, planning to stare daggers at Naruto, but his features softened suddenly. Naruto's body was bloodied, not much unlike the day they had first fought Zabuza at the lake. But the blonde's sapphire eyes scared Shikamaru the most. They didn't hold any of the usual joy or excitement they had that morning. They were…different. Bad different.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked looking over where Gatou and his men were standing.

"…Gatou's decided to grace us with his presence and just told us he's going to kill us all," Shikamaru deadpanned.

Naruto snorted and shook his head. "This day just keeps on getting better," the suddenly subdued hyperactive blonde said with a sigh, though he didn't seem that worried for some reason. Shikamaru decided to shrug it off for the time being, realizing that now wasn't the time to get distracted. Suddenly, he realized that Hinata was nowhere in sight. His heart began to race in worry as he turned around to ask Naruto, but Gatou began to talk again.

"I guess I should thank you though," Gatou said suddenly. "You liberated me from the biggest waste of money I've ever made. Demon of the Bloody Mist…Ha! It turns out he's just a pathetic man who…"

Gatou suddenly cried out in pain and gripped his shoulder. He looked in shock as blood began to leak out of the wound and onto his favorite suit, without a doubt staining it. And all with just a simple needle…

"Don't you dare talk down about Zabuza," Haku said, bringing everyone's attention toward him. The boy stood to his feet and looked at Gatou with such a scowl that some of the samurai behind him even stepped back in mild alarm.

"…What the hell are you waiting for?!" Gatou yelled at the men behind him. "Kill them all! I don't want any of them leaving alive!"

Gatou suddenly stopped, looking around him. Water was lifting itself off the ground, forming a complete circle of water around him. Naruto looked back at Haku and saw him making the seal that he had used against him, but this time, Haku's eyes glowed with hate that Naruto had never seen in anyone's eyes before. Naruto looked back and saw that the samurai behind Gatou were gawking at the water in confusion, none knowing what in the world was going on.

"Because of you, Zabuza died," Haku said in malice. "And now…you are going to die too!" The water around Gatou suddenly formed into several small ice needles. Before Gatou could even scream in terror, the needles flew at Gatou from all sides, skewering him. With ice needles sticking out of him from all sides, he slowly fell to his knees and dropped to the ground. The small man was dead before he knew what happened.

The samurai were shocked. Their employer had just been killed right before their very eyes before they could do anything! Each of them glanced back over at the boy that had undoubtedly caused it to happen. The boy's look of rage was all it took for them to know they were outmatched. The samurai all suddenly began to throw down their swords and ran away as fast as they could in the opposite direction of the demon boy. Within seconds, every single samurai was gone and the only ones left were the shinobi.

"I guess that takes care of that," Kakashi said looking over where Gatou's bloody corpse laid motionlessly. "Gatou's gone and Tazuna is safe…mission accomplished." Kakashi looked back to Haku in question, though the boy didn't show one bit of interest in the copy nin. The only thing the boy seemed to care about then was Zabuza's body, lying at his feet.

"You are a trained shinobi," Kakashi said as if Haku was one of his own students. "You know why it had to end like this…"

"I do," Haku responded weakly. "But the knowledge alone does not make the pain hurt any less."

"…And here I thought that I had trained you well…"

Haku's jaw dropped in shock, hearing Zabuza's voice. "You're alive!"

"Not for long…" Zabuza replied. The Demon of the Bloody Mist slowly turned his head to Kakashi. "You seemed to be more of a match than I had thought, Kakashi." The swordsman's voice and eyes held no hate or malevolence. If anything, Zabuza seemed to be calm. "You fought well."

"Just hold on," Haku still pleaded, not able to accept that his master was about to die right before his very eyes. "I have some healing supplies with me. And if you just hold on for a couple of days, we can find a medic nin and…"

"Do you really think that anybody would give a missing nin of Kiri healing?" Zabuza asked. Haku remained silent, deciding to instead hide his eyes with his hair to avoid looking at Zabuza.

"Stay alive, Haku," Zabuza muttered, looking up at the clouded sky. "You are too kind and pure to die now. You are young and can change, unlike me. You have a chance to follow your own path, not another's. Live, Haku. Live and seek out a different path than the one I forced you upon. That is my final order to you."

"…Yes, Zabuza-sama," Haku said, his voice shaking.

"Good," Zabuza said nodding and closing his eyes. "I may have never told you this…but I always did look at you as if you were my son. You have my blessings, Haku. I don't know what the blessings of a demon can do for you, but I wish you luck all the same. Good bye." And Zabuza, the Demon of the Bloody Mist and one of the Seven Swordsman breathed his last breath, and was silent.

Haku sat there quietly beside his master, looking down at Zabuza's now lifeless body. Finally, he stood to his feet and looked over to face Naruto. At first the Genin just scowled at him, not wanting to give the boy any pity whatsoever. Why should he? Now he knew what it felt to lose the one most precious to you. Haku was going through the same thing that he was now. He'll recieve no sympathy from Naruto.

But then the Kiri nin looked over toward where Hinata's body lay. "You should go to her," Haku said. "She will be waking up soon."

"What?!" Naruto yelled in shock.

"I have been trained by Za…to be capable of putting people in a false death state. It has come in handy once or twice in the past. I did the same to Hinata. She should be waking up at anytime now."

Naruto stood with his mouth wide open, looking first to where Hinata was still lying, then to Haku.

"I…well…" Naruto said looking down to the ground. Haku remained where he stood, waiting for whatever Naruto wanted to say. Haku felt surprise well up inside of him as the blonde bent down into a bow. "Thank you," he said straightening back up, then running off to where Hinata's body was located.

"I should thank you as well," Kakashi said to Haku as he watched Naruto run off. "Hinata is a good girl, and killing her would…well you have no idea what it would do to Naruto."

"Actually, I do," Haku said looking down one more time at Zabuza and then closing his eyes, finally allowing the tears to fall down his face.

Shikamaru watched in silence, not knowing how to react to all of this. He had never been a sensitive guy. He was more of a realistic. But now, he couldn't help but admit that he did feel bad for Haku.

He straightened slightly when he looked up to the sky. What was this? How in the world could there be snow at this time of year? It was impossible! In the middle of summer?!

He looked over at Kakashi, who unlike him, was just looking at the sky in content. He finally slid his hitae-ate back over his Sharingan eye. _I wonder,_ Kakashi thought as he continued to watch the snow fall, _is this a reflection of the boy's soul…or is it perhaps Zabuza's remorse…?_

Naruto, who was not far away, was not paying any attention to the snow. Instead, he was kneeling in front of Hinata's body, hoping with all his might for her to open her eyes. Praying that she would open her eyes. Naruto started. He could have sworn that Hinata had just moved her hand a little. He gasped next when her eyes began to flicker open for a moment. Finally, Hinata's eyes opened slightly, her purple pupils squinting from the sun that now shone through the disappearing mist even with the snow falling.

"N-Naruto-kun?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Hey, Hinata-chan," Naruto said dumbly. Without thinking next, he wrapped his arms around Hinata and held her tight, surprising the Hyuga girl greatly.

"Naruto? Am I…are we…dead?" she asked.

"No, Hinata," Naruto said pulling away and wiping the tears from his eyes. "We're alive." Hinata's eyes shone brightly and they once again embraced, with Naruto not ever wanting to let go.

* * *

Naruto and his team stood on a large cliff that overlooked sea that lay between the Land of Waves and the Land of Fire. The sun was just beginning to set, giving the sky the mysterious orange that was the twilight.

In front of him and his teammates was Haku, dressed out of his shinobi clothes and into the disguise clothing that he had used when he had first met with Naruto, Shikamaru, and Hinata. In front of him was Zabuza's giant sword, thrust into the ground to mark the area of the shinobi's final resting place.

"I still remember the day when I first met Zabuza," Haku said to the group behind him. They all remained silent, not knowing how to reply. "It was snowing, much like it was yesterday… I was lost. I had nowhere to go. Both my mother and father were dead. My father was the one who took my mother's life…and soon after I took his."

Haku looked away from the sword and toward the setting sun in the horizon. "When Zabuza-sama first saw me, he told me that I was going die…that I wasn't strong enough to make it through the winter. But then, I think he saw something in me, perhaps my kekkae genkai. He asked me if I would follow him and sell my life to his cause…it was one of the only questions that he had ever asked me. An option that I could decide on by me alone. I agreed. And so I devoted my life to him, I lived for him. And now that he's gone, I feel as if there is nothing left that this life is able to offer."

"There are other options in life," Kakashi said seriously. "You choose to be a shinobi, and you knew that there may come a day when you had to face this."

"…I had thought I was prepared," Haku said slightly turning his head back toward them. "I was wrong. You all knew Zabuza as the Demon of the Bloody Mist. An enemy that must be disposed of and threatened your mission as well as your lives. To me though…he was a guardian, someone who watched out for me to the end. How can I expect to live when the reason I did live is now gone?"

"Stop feeling so sorry for yourself," Naruto said, catching everyone by surprise. Before anybody could do anything, he jumped forward and spun Haku around, grabbing him by the shirt. "You are pathetic," he said. "What if Zabuza was still alive and saw you now after everything he said to you before he died? What would he think?!"

"Enough, Naruto," Kakashi said behind him, but the Genin paid no attention to his sensei.

"You felt the pain too, Naruto," Haku replied looking over the blonde's shoulder toward Hinata. "If I had killed her…would you have been able to live with yourself? You weren't able to save her even though you tried your hardest. Could you really accept that?"

"I don't know," Naruto said letting go of Haku's shirt, but not letting the force in his voice drop. "But I do know that she wouldn't want me to live on in suffering." Behind him, Hinata nodded with a sad smile to Haku and Naruto.

"The pain is great, Naruto-san," Haku said stepping away from Naruto and facing all of his former enemies. "…But there is some truth to what you say."

"I know that, but do you?" Naruto asked.

Haku's closed his eyes and hung his head in silence while everyone watched him silently. Finally, he looked up with a comforting, yet still slightly sad smile. "I will follow Zabuza's last request and live on," he said, "though it will be a hard journey for me. I need to find my own way now, to find where I belong and am needed."

"Kakashi-sensei," Hinata said, "can't Haku come with us? No one will be mad, will they?"

"He's not even a registered ninja really if he was trained by Zabuza," Shikamaru added. "We just need to think of enough lies and he'll be home free…"

"No," Haku suddenly said. Everyone looked over at him in surprise, but he just shrugged in response. "I need to find out where I belong on my own. I can't accept help from any of you, I am sorry."

Naruto looked over at Haku, looking directly in the taller boy's eyes. "I still don't trust you," he said admittedly. "But still…I hope that we can someday meet again as friends." Naruto outstretched his hand toward Haku which the other boy looked at in surprise.

"Thank you, Naruto-san," Haku said grasping the hand and shaking it. "I believe that we are very much alike, you and I. But unlike me, you choose the path of a true shinobi. Promise me that you'll continue on that path and protect your friends. Make sure that nothing happens to them."

"I will," Naruto said nodding and turning back to his team, which they sent a smile back to him.

"We'll meet again, Naruto-san," Haku said from behind Naruto. When the blonde turned back around to look at Haku again, he was gone.

* * *

"We have no idea how to thank you," Tazuna said gratefully toward squad seven. "You don't know how much we people of the village owe you. By aiding us building this bridge, you have renewed our hope for ourselves."

"Ah, don't worry about it," Naruto said chuckling. "That's what we heroes do. Save a village, defeat a business running asshole, build a couple bridges…it's all in a days work. Right guys?"

"Y-yeah," Hinata said smiling at the mass of people that had come to see them off. None of them had expected so many people to come, though they had a pretty good assumption that Inari and Tazuna had a little something to do about it.

"Hinata…" Tazuna spoke sadly, "I'm especially sorry about what nearly happened to you. You nearly died, and not to mention that you also lost that ability that you use with those eyes of yours. If it hadn't been for me…"

"Don't worry, Tazuna-san," Hinata said bowing. "I agreed to the risks and I took on the mission because I wanted too. I knew what I needed to do. And everything worked out in the end, so I don't think there is anything to worry about." What she said was actually very true. Though she had lost the ability to use her Byakugan, for some reason, she felt no anger towards Tazuna. In fact, she was happy that all of them had made it through the whole thing in one piece. And besides, even if she knew what would have happened in the end before she accepted the mission, she knew that she would do the whole thing all over again.

"You don't know how much it means to me that you said that," Tazuna said smiling down at the girl. "I wish you all safe travels and good luck in the future."

"You better come and visit us," Inari said, looking very close to tears.

"Well _you_ have got to come visit us," Naruto said back, looking a little teary eyed himself.

"I don't think that would be such a bad idea," Kakashi said looking up from his book. "The Chunin Exams are coming up in a little while, and I think I know a couple of Genin that may be participating in it."

"Are you serious?!" Naruto shouted enthusiastically. "You mean that we can already try out to be Chunin?"

"Perhaps," Kakashi said placing a hand on Naruto's blonde head. "But that only depends on how hard and diligently you train beforehand."

Shikamaru sighed beside Kakashi. "Great," he complained. "If that exam is half as hard as my dad says it is, it's going to be a complete pain."

"Don't listen to him, he's just a party pooper," Naruto said waving a hand at Shikamaru dismissively. "But make sure you come and see us though. Then you'll get to see me kick even more butt!"

"We'll be there," Tazuna said nodding along with his daughter and grandson. "Just make sure you ace that exam while we're there."

"Count on it!" Naruto said punching the air. "We'll see you then!"

Squad seven then turned around and began to make their way down the soon to be named Great Naruto Bridge with many cheering people shouting goodbyes to them. Unknown to them, a lone figure stood on a high cliff, watching them leave with a smile on his face.

"Uzumaki Naruto," Haku said watching the small orange figure walk along the bridge. "There are a few people in this world that can change it forever…you are one of those people. Your allies, your beliefs, and your dreams will affect the entire world. I doubt you are fully aware of such things, and I'm unsure if you ever will. Please, stay on the right path, and keep true to your ninja way. And most of all, protect your friends, they'll make you strong. And good luck."

Haku turned away from the cliff and knelt down in front of Zabuza's sword. After a moment, he muttered his last goodbyes to his former master and stood back to his feet. Instead of walking off though, Haku grasped the hilt of Zabuza's giant sword that was still impaled into the ground. With an audible grunt, he pulled it out of the earth and held the giant blade in front of his face. With a smile, he tied the sword onto his back and walked down the path, ready to find his own ninja way.

* * *

_And…cut! There we go! Finished with the Land of Waves! Took me long enough…Heheheheh. And you guys actually thought hat I would kill Hinata off. Yeah, right. By the way, hope that no one will get too angry at the slightly super-powered Naruto I had, it's only because he was using the Kyuubi's chakra at that time. It won't happen again. _

_Well just so you know, there's going to be a little filler stuff in the next couple of chapters before the Chunin Exams start. It might be a little while until I get all of the ideas in my head sorted together. If you want, you can also check out my Naru/Ino fic that I wrote a couple months ago. Just go to my profile to find it. Well, until the next update everybody, have a nice day and happy writing (or angsty writing if that's your style)._

_But just to hold you over a little while, here's a little preview (not much, but oh well)… With Hinata's Byakugan sealed inside of her, will the Hyuuga family be able to unlock it once again…? Not to mention that she has also lost the cursed seal…how will the family react? Find out next chapter…_


	12. A Family Affair

Hey everybody. Well, here we are…the set up chapters to start the Chunin exams. And I can't be any more excited about it truthfully! Okay, one thing before we start. I'm going to give one last reminder: Hinata and Neji's roles are reversed, which means that their father's roles are also. That means that Hizashi, Neji's father, is the head of the Hyuuga clan. And Hiashi, Hinata's father, is…well dead. So that's it really. Oh yeah, and this chapter will be more serious than previous ones. Hope that doesn't tick too many people off. Don't worry, I've got humor planned next chapter. Hope you enjoy.

Edit 8/24/09- Once again, a pretty decently edited chapter. Mostly just a couple more details put in here and there and also going a little deeper into Naruto's thoughts throughout the chapter. Not much else to say though…

* * *

_Naruto stared through the darkness that surrounded him. He could feel nothing, see nothing, hear nothing…it was as if he was alive but without body, had no senses whatsoever. Panic suddenly overwhelmed him. What if he wasn't alive? What if this was death that he was experiencing. In his fear, he struggled against the darkness with all his strength, trying to see through it…The process was slow, but soon he had a hand to clench, two eyes to see. Finally, he had body again. _

_He looked around in a slight daze, trying to find out where he was. He just seemed to be floating in mid air in a void of darkness._ "_Where am I?" he asked, still looking around._

_Suddenly, his head erupted in pain. Naruto gripped his head, trying to shake off the throbbing. It was as if something was trying to dig itself from the inside out of his head and through his eyes. Something bad. Semi consciously, his hand went to his stomach, the location where his seal was._

_The scenery around Naruto suddenly changed, although he recognized the location immediately. He was in front of Inari's house, at the place that he and his team had fought Haku and Zabuza. He suddenly felt a jolt run through his body. Slowly, he turned around to see what was happening._

_He gasped, finding himself gazing at the outside of Haku's ice mirrors, every detail exactly as they had been when they had battled each other. Naruto's mouth dropped open agape when he looked who was inside. It was him, but there was something wrong. His other self was covered in a red aura, drying the water that surrounded him into hot steam. Naruto could feel his heart break suddenly. Beside his other self on the other side of the mirrors was Hinata's body, lying motionlessly with her eyes shut._

_The other Naruto suddenly roared skyward savagely, breaking the top mirror that hovered over him into a million tiny shards as the red energy shot out from his body like a cannon. The now demonic Naruto jumped toward the nearest ice mirror and broke it as if it was glass. A mere second later, his other self jumped out of the way to avoid Haku's attack, but pounced back and grabbed Haku by the arm. After speaking a few words toward Haku, the missing nin eyes widened in fright and the other Naruto pulled his fist back, slamming it into Haku's face and sending the Kiri nin soaring through the air._

_Naruto could not believe what he was seeing. He was looking at himself from the outside, seeing how he had acted when he had fought Haku. He couldn't believe how much power he had possessed when he had lost control. But at the same time, he felt more afraid that he had ever felt in his entire life._

_The blonde cringed when he saw Haku get up, amazed that the boy could even stand after such a crushing blow. He looked over at his other self and felt himself begin to shake in fear. The demonic Naruto was smiling evilly, as if it liked causing Haku pain. He suddenly realized that during that moment, he had lived for Haku's pain. It frightened him how much alike he resembled the Demon of the Bloody Mist from the day that they first fought him… Just what had he become that day?_

_The only thing Naruto could do was watch as his other self shoot toward Haku again. With a mighty leap, he tackled Haku to the ground, raising his clawed hand over the boy that was prepared to cut through Haku's throat, but froze._

"_Don't do it," Naruto pleaded at his other self. "Please…don't do it."_

_The demon Naruto still didn't move, looking down at Haku. Finally, it smiled in victory. It was when Naruto knew that Haku was not going to survive this time._

"_No!" Naruto yelled, but the demon in front of him still brought his claw down at Haku. Naruto closed his eyes before he could see the blow, but he could not block out the ear splitting scream that pierced the air soon after._

_For a moment, Naruto just stood there with his eyes closed, trying to compose himself. This had to be a dream…some sick and twisted dream…Naruto reopened his eyes and found that the scenery had changed once again, this time into a room filled with mirrors. He looked at the one in front of him and shouted again in fear. He had turned into his demon form. His blonde hair was now ragged and messy, and the whisker marks on his cheeks had become wild. His teeth had also grown, making them appear more akin to fangs than teeth. The most frightful part were his eyes, which had changed from the usual clear blue to crimson…the color of blood. _

_**This is who you are…**__ a familiar deep voice said inside of him. __**Why do you insist on denying it?**_

_Naruto ignored the voice and instead turned away from the mirror, yet he was only faced by another reflection of himself. In rage, he crushed the mirror with all the might he could produce, but it was only replaced by yet another. Every time Naruto saw a new reflection of what he had become, the fury inside of him grew even stronger before destroying it. Soon Naruto was going from mirror to mirror, shattering any sort of glass he could find. He couldn't look at them. What he saw in them was not him, it was a demon. He kept on telling himself that as he continued to demolish every single mirror in his path. Finally, all that remained around him was darkness. He fell to his knees, gasping for air from exhaustion._

_A growl suddenly brought him back on alert. At first it sounded like nothing more than a small rumble, barely even noticeable, but then it became steadily louder. The noise became so painful that Naruto finally brought his two clawed hands up to his ears, trying to block out the sound._

"_Stop it!" Naruto tried to yell, but he could not even hear his own voice over the thunderous growl._

"_**You can't hide it…no matter how much you try," **__a deep and cold voice echoed through the darkness. _

"_Shut up!" Naruto shouted gripping his head with both hands. He couldn't listen to that voice. It was so evil…so dark. He couldn't listen to it, he won't listen to it!_

"_**You've tasted the darkness once…and you gave into it. You can't hold it off…you can't hold me off. You cannot hide what is already inside of you." **__A giant eye suddenly opened in front of him…the same colored eye that his were when he had used the Kyuubi's power. A giant mouth appeared next, snarling savagely at Naruto. Then, quick as lightning, the mouth opened wide and rushed at Naruto and closed its jaws around him._

Naruto woke up with a start, taking in deep, ragged breaths. He quickly brought his hands up to his face, double checking that they were still completely human. After that, his hands went to his hair and whiskers, checking if they too were the same as always.

After finally being reassured that he was the same, Naruto finally began to take steadier breathes. His eyes darted around the campsite that they were at while wiping his sweat covered forehead with his sleeve. They were merely a half a day's walk from Konoha and had decided to rest that night instead of continuing. Kakashi, Hinata, and Shikamaru slept soundly, none of them showing any signs of being awake.

Naruto looked up to nighttime sky, trying to find comfort in the starry mural above him. He punched himself lightly in the leg. He wasn't supposed to have fallen asleep in the first place. After all, it was his turn to take watch. But now Naruto was not too sure if he wanted to stay awake for the night or to fall asleep once again. His eyes began to feel heavy, and he decided to let his body decide on its own.

"_**No matter how much you try, you won't be able to hide the darkness inside of you…demon boy."**_

"Shut up," Naruto said gripping his head and trying to block out the voice. "I'm not a demon…I'm not like you…"

Naruto shivered silently, trying to shake the terrible voice from his head, but the worst thing was that he felt it was true. The power that he felt was still inside of him. He could deny it, but it was still there. And nothing he could ever do or say could ever change that.

He never did get fully asleep again that night. He also never noticed that Shikamaru's left eyelid had been slightly open the entire time.

* * *

On any normal day, Shikamaru wouldn't mind silences, but on that morning it seemed to be a little much. Ever since they woke up the entire trip back had been quiet with the occasional exception of Kakashi ordering them to do something that was needed. Usually, he liked it when things were relatively silent. Things were peaceful, nothing was around to give him a headache, and if he wasn't going anywhere he could sit down and take a good nap.

But this wasn't one of those peaceful silences. It was one of those uncomfortable silences when something was wrong. Shikamaru couldn't say what that could be. They had all made it back from a life threatening mission. What wasn't there to be happy about?

The one who worried him the most was Naruto who was, quite uncharacteristically, the most mute of them all. It hadn't taken long for him and Hinata to notice their teammate's peculiar behavior. Ever since the battle at the bridge, Naruto had been acting strangely. It was almost as if his usual smiling face was more forced than it usually was. He wasn't eating as much as he had been either, which was also a dramatic change in the blonde's personality. Something had to be bothering Naruto, but both he and Hinata were slightly too afraid ask. Not to mention that he still had no idea what Naruto had been talking about the previous night.

Not saying that he wasn't worried about Hinata as well. But while he had a feeling Naruto was dwelling on events that had happened in the past, whatever they might have been, he also suspected that Hinata might actually instead be dreading the future. Whenever the rare conversation about their return came up in conversation, she would become unusually silent, even by her standards. When he had asked her about it, she had reassured him that she was fine. One thing had happened though when she had lost her Byakugan. Her new violet eyes were no longer able to hide lies.

"Well guys, welcome home," Kakashi said suddenly, looking up from his book. The Genin stood up straight in attention, looking down the road. A couple steps more and they finally saw the gates of Konoha. Kakashi looked over at his students, expecting to see the happy faces that they had now that they had returned home. Beneath his mask he frowned, seeing that none of his students were smiling at all. Heck, they didn't even look remotely happy. Did he miss something?

Kakashi couldn't really blame Naruto though. He suspected that using the Kyuubi's chakra had probably been a huge shock to him, but there also seemed to be something else that was bothering the boy. Whatever it was though, Naruto seemed intent on keeping such information to himself.

"Welcome home!" a Chunin guard exclaimed as they approached the gates. "You must have been the team that escorted that man back to Wave Country, we've been expecting you. How did your mission turn out?"

"Deadly," Kakashi said simply. The Chunin stared blankly at Kakashi, appearing not too sure if his superior was serious or not. "It's nothing to worry about now, the mission ended in success," Kakashi reassured the younger man with a wave of his hand.

"Oh, well good!" the Chunin said brightening up, though still looking slightly confused. "I'm happy to hear that. Well, hope you have a nice day," the man said stepping aside and letting the four ninja walk by.

"Well," Kakashi said placing his book in his side pocket and turning to his Genin after they had walked in, "that's it. Excellent job these past couple of weeks. You are dismissed to do whatever you please. I'm going to go give Hokage-sama the mission report. And report information about a missing nin that Konoha will no longer have to worry about."

The Genin nodded grimly to their sensei. Not exactly the response he would have liked. "Oh, and one more thing," Kakashi added cheerfully. "Take the next two days off, I think you deserve it. Until then fellas…" The Copy Nin then vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving Naruto, Shikamaru, and Hinata by themselves.

"Okay then," Shikamaru said stretching. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm heading home. I've got some sleeping to catch up on."

"Do you ever think about anything else besides being lazy?" Naruto asked chuckling.

"Not really," Shikamaru shrugged. "I'll see you two later." Shikamaru turned around and waved lazily at his two teammates as he walked down the street. He glanced over his shoulder at the two to see if either of them looked suspicious. Thankfully, they weren't.

Shikamaru sighed in relief. If they had actually known where he lived, they might have realized that he was walking in the opposite direction toward where his house was. Actually, he was planning on going to Choji's house to get a little help with doing some research in the library. Something about what Zabuza had said still puzzled Shikamaru. _Do you think that a disaster that large would be over looked by opposing villages?_ What disaster? The biggest thing that he could think of was the attack of the Kyuubi twelve years ago. But how could that be related to the situation that they had been in at that time? And why had Kakashi seemed so intimidated by Zabuza's words? None of it made sense.

While his mind was still on the demon fox, another thought suddenly crossed his mind. At the academy they had been told repeatedly over and over again that the Yondaime had defeated the Kyuubi, but none of them had ever given specific details on _how_ he had defeated it. Shikamaru had never really thought about it at length before, but now he was becoming more and more curious on the subject.

"There are too many holes in the story," Shikamaru muttered as he continued to walk. "Looks like I'm not going to be able to catch up on all that sleep after all…"

Back with Hinata and Naruto, they both stood silently together, trying to find something to say to the other.

"So…Hinata," Naruto finally said. "What do you think your family's going to say? You know, now that you've lost your byakugan?"

"…I don't know," Hinata said clasping her hands together nervously. "I'm not too sure what they're going to do. But I'm scared." Naruto looked at Hinata in concern, though the Hyuuga girl didn't seem to notice, still staring down at the ground with her now violet eyes. "What if they kick me out of the family? Who's ever heard of a Hyuuga without the byakugan anyways? I'll be useless to the family and…"

"Hey," Naruto said, putting a hand on Hinata's shoulder. Hinata immediately became quite and looked back up at the blonde, her violet eyes meeting with his cerulean eyes. "Don't worry about it. Sure, your family is kind of jerky. But they're still your family. It'll be fine."

Hinata nodded back at Naruto, feeling a little better. She had always loved how Naruto was able to make her fears disappear. Sometimes he didn't even have to say anything for it to happen. It just did when she looked at him. His determination was beautiful to her. How he could always get back up, no matter what happened to him. To keep going no matter what the costs or what anybody said. Admittedly, she kind of envied it, but overall she admired it.

"If you say so, Naruto-kun," Hinata said blushing slightly. "I hope you're right."

"Don't worry about it," Naruto said smiling. "And tell you what. I'll go with you too."

"What?" Hinata said in surprise. "Y-you don't have to do that, Naruto-kun. I'll be fine on my own, I promise."

"I know that, Hinata," Naruto said crossing his arms behind his head. "But heck, I don't have anything to do today anyways. Anyways, scary things are always easier when you have a friend with you."

Hinata suddenly felt slightly warmer inside, the familiar feeling of being safe when Naruto was around. She loved that feeling. More than anything else in the world.

"Thanks, Naruto-kun," Hinata muttered blushing embarrassedly.

"No problem, Hinata-chan," Naruto said as they began their way to the Hyuuga district in Konoha.

The trip there was made in silence, though the other one being there made the travel a little more bearable. It didn't take long for Naruto to also begin wondering what would happen to Hinata. He made no attempt to hide his true feelings on how the clan ran things. The whole system was based off of whom one's parents were and the specific time they were born. Your entire life was decided at the point of your birth. You were a leader or a follower, and nothing you could ever do would change that. The whole idea just pissed him off.

Even more though, he hated the seal that they put on the branch members. He had only discussed about it with Hinata on a handful of occasions, but everything he did know about it just made him even more pissed at the clan. It was like a symbol of the oppression that the branch family had to endure for their entire lives. They could never escape it. And as if just to make him angrier, he also learned about the other use of the seal. A tool the main branch can use as a means to control the branch family. According to Hinata, her seal had only been activated once when she had first received it, as a warning to show her what would happen should she ever go against their wishes. Just thinking about it made him clench his fists in anger. But his anger was subsided slightly more than usual now that the seal was gone. At least one good thing had come out from their fight with Haku. He had released Hinata from the effects of the seal. And Naruto couldn't be more relieved.

When finally they arrived to the location, they halted before the gigantic house that belonged to the main family of the clan. Hinata stopped in her tracks, suddenly too afraid to take another step.

Naruto stopped as well, looking back at Hinata. After a moment, he walked over to her and grabbed her hand, surprising her. Hinata looked from their clasped hands and up to Naruto. The whiskered boy gave a soft and comforting smile to Hinata, which she couldn't help but to return back. Finally, she began to walk again, still holding Naruto's hand.

Two Hyuuga guards in front of the gates spotted them, both of them activating their Byakugan as they approached, both of them wearing their hitae-ates tightly around their foreheads. They were obviously branch family members. The main branch family members usually made an effort to make sure their foreheads were visible, as if to just to add salt to the wound for the branch family. Naruto hated that they had activated their byakugans as soon as they approached, even though he had been told by Hinata that they were required to do so to check for any threatening weapons that they may be holding. It just made him feel as if he wasn't allowed any privacy at all and that he couldn't be trusted. It also made him feel as if the Hyuuga's felt as if they could do anything that they wanted. To them, it seemed like nobody else's feelings mattered to them at all.

"Halt," one spoke sternly, making no sign at all that he recognized Hinata. "You are on Hyuuga grounds. State your business."

Naruto looked over to Hinata, which she nodded back assuredly. She then turned back to the guard. "Tell Hizashi-sama that Hinata has returned."

The Hyuuga guard looked at Hinata for a second, then his eyes widened in shock. He turned to his partner, who looked back in equal surprise.

"I'll be back," the guard said more to the other guard than Hinata, disappearing with a hand sign. Both Hinata and Naruto looked at each other nervously. This was obviously not a good first sign.

The guard suddenly reappeared, barely gone for thirty seconds. "Hizashi-sama wishes to speak to you," he spoke to Hinata, unlocking the gate. "Immediately."

"Yes," Hinata said bowing respectfully, beginning to let go of Naruto's hand to follow, but found that Naruto's grip tightened around her hand. The guard turned around in annoyance, looking straight at Naruto.

"You are causing Hizashi-sama wait," the guard said sternly. "Leave now. This is Hyuuga business. You don't have the right to get involved."

"I want to be with Hinata," Naruto said determinedly. "I want to come also to the meeting. I'm going with Hinata."

"I already said no," the guard said, his voice switching from annoyed to threatening. "Go home. We don't have any time for the likes of you."

"I'm going with Hinata," Naruto repeated.

This time, the Hyuuga activated its byakugan. He opened his mouth to speak again, but a voice came out from behind them.

"Enough of this," the voice said. The guard seemed to pale slightly, deactivating his byakugan immediately. Naruto and Hinata looked past the guard to see who had spoken, both of them catching sight of the boy that was walking toward the gate. "You are acting dishonorably and most of all stupidly."

The guard turned around and dropped to the ground, bowing down to the both shorter and younger boy in fear. "Please forgive me, Neji-sama," the guard said respectfully. "I did not mean to dishonor the Hyuuga family. I apologize."

"Rise," Neji commanded, which the guard immediately obeyed. "You may stay at your post. I'll escort you these two to my father myself."

"T-two?" the guard stammered. "But…but this boy…"

"Means no harm," Neji finished for the guard. "I'm sure that my father will not mind. As long," Neji said, facing Naruto, "as he agrees not to speak during the meeting."

Naruto glared back at Neji. Whenever Naruto thought about the Hyuuga, or anything that he disagreed with that had something to do with the family, Neji's face would always appear in his mind. He hated the stuck up prick above any of the other Hyuugas. He was always talking down to Hinata and thought that he was so much better than everybody else. Naruto just couldn't stand him.

"…I agree," Naruto said reluctantly.

"Good," Neji said turning around. "Follow me then."

Hinata and Naruto followed Neji into the mansion. Naruto looked around in amazement. He had never been inside any of the Hyuuga mansions before, he had always been denied entrance. Now that he was inside one, he couldn't help but admire the house. It was spotless, smelled nice, and above all looked expensive. Naruto suddenly felt slightly ashamed of his rundown apartment where he lived.

Neji suddenly stopped in front of a door, causing Naruto and Hinata to halt as well.

"My father is waiting for you behind this door," Neji said to the two behind him. "Remember, do not speak unless spoken too. And," he said to Naruto, "remember your agreement."

"Fine," Naruto said, though not too politely.

Neji's blank eyes narrowed slightly at Naruto, but turned back around and opened the door, letting them in.

"Father, I've brought Hinata-san," he said letting Hinata and Naruto in. In the room sat a semi circle of eight Hyuuga members, all dressed in long white robes. At the head was Hizashi, the head of the Hyuuga house. He raised his eyebrows at Naruto in small surprise along with some other emotion that Naruto couldn't quite distinguish, casting a knowing eye at the boy. Naruto looked away from the man, feeling as if he was being dissected even without the man's byakugan activated.

"And why have your brought this other one, Neji?" Hizashi asked calmly, his eyes going down to the two teammates grasping the other's hand, but said nothing about it.

"He has agreed that he would remain silent through the meeting if you would allow him stay. I presumed that you would not mind," Neji responded.

Hizashi looked once again at Naruto, which Naruto replied back with a respectful bow. After a moment of silence, Hizashi signaled both Naruto and Hinata to sit, which both complied obediently, neither letting go of the others hand.

"Well, Hinata-san," Hizashi spoke to the young girl before him. "This is, as you have probably already guessed, unexpected for all of us."

"Yes, Hizashi-sama," Hinata replied respectfully. She felt Naruto's grip tighten around her hand, which she couldn't help but returned back.

"The last time we saw you, you were heading out with your team on a C rank mission to escort a man to Wave Country, if I remember correctly. Tell me, why is it that you return to us without your byakugan?"

Hinata took a deep breath and began the tale about them going to Wave Country. About Gatau's plans to take over the country, and how Tazuna was actually the bridge builder and was the only hope they had for freedom. She then told about the attacks of Zabuza and Haku, which caused each of the members to look at Hinata and Naruto in shock. Finally, she reached the part of both her and Naruto's battle against Haku, and how he had put her in a temporary death state before going after Naruto, which ultimately ended in failure, and then finally ending with how Zabuza was defeated by Kakashi and then Gotau soon after by Haku. When her story was over, a long silence followed.

"A very interesting series of events," Hizashi said stroking his chin in thought.

"This is unheard of!" a man on the very left suddenly shouted. "This story is preposterous! Momochi Zabuza!? Surely, Hizashi-sama, you don't believe these lies."

"Neji…?" Hizashi said turning to his son.

"Everything she said was the truth," the heir of the Hyuuga clan replied surely.

"Forgive me, Hizashi-sama," the same member said looking from Neji to his father. "I know that he is your son, but how could this boy actually know if she was telling the truth or not? We cannot trust all of this by pure instinct."

"I had my byakugan activated the entire time," Neji said, blinking once to bring out his kekkae genkai again. "When someone lies, it causes a chemical imbalance in the body. There was no imbalance at all in Hinata-san's body during her story. What she has just told us was one hundred percent true."

"You earnestly want me to believe that a mere boy has actually developed such a high level of the byakugan at such a young age?" the man asked again.

"Enough," Hizashi commanded, silencing the man. "I have tested this ability with Neji, and he speaks the truth. And that means his byakugan has reached an even higher level than yours, Hiraku-san." Hiraku visibly winced, sat down, though still casting an angered look at Neji.

"Hinata-san," Hizashi said turning back to Hinata. "Please, remove your hitae-ate."

Hinata hesitated, but finally let go of Naruto's hand and removed the forehead protector, showing the elder Hyuugas her unmarked forehead.

"So the caged bird seal has truly disappeared," Hizashi said softly, as if he was talking to himself. "So that means that your byakugan is sealed within you…"

"Can't you just unseal it?" Naruto asked.

"Silence boy!" Hiraku exclaimed. "You swore that you would not speak."

"The boy means no disrespect, Hiraku-san," Hizashi said sternly, silencing the other man. "Unfortunately, Uzumaki-san," Hizashi said this time to the boy in front of him, "the Caged Bird Seal was specifically made to seal the byakugan forever, to protect its secrets from enemy countries. There has never been any need to reawaken the byakugan to a corpse before, so we are unaware on how to unseal it. To my knowledge, this is the first time that someone's byakugan has been sealed in them when they died and then came back from the dead. It is uncommon for a shinobi to show such mercy towards an enemy."

"So what are you going to do?" Naruto asked. Hiraku shot an annoyed look at Hizashi, but the head clan member just raised his hand to silence him.

"We will look into trying to unlock the byakugan for Hinata-san. But until then, we will replace the caged bird seal onto her."

"How can you do that?!" Naruto yelled, jumping to his feet. Four members of the Hyuuga council activated their byakugans when Naruto shouted, one of them being Hiraku. He didn't care now though. Hinata had just been freed from the thing that he hated most about the Hyuuga clan. He wasn't going to allow such a thing to happen to her again without a fight. "There isn't even a reason to put it on her anymore. With her byakugan gone, there's no point."

"The Caged Bird Seal holds another purpose besides sealing the byakugan when one dies," Hizashi said closing his eyes. "It's also used to control the branch family. It is a practice of the Hyuuga family, a tradition as old as Konoha itself. To break that tradition would dishonor us."

"But I know that Hinata would never betray any of you," Naruto said, this time to the entire council, looking at each of the hardened faces one by one. "You can't honestly believe that she'll actually go against you."

"Whether or not she will or won't is irrelevant," Hizashi responded. "If we show favoritism toward her, it will put the entire Hyuuga household in turmoil. We are left without any other choice."

Naruto still stood to his feet, not wavering under the punishing gaze of the Hyuuga council. After another moment, Naruto dropped to his knees and bowed down to the council. A surprised silence followed, no one understanding what the boy was doing. "If it could change anything…" Naruto said still bowing down, "I will offer myself instead of Hinata. Put the seal on me instead of her."

"No, Naruto!" Hinata cried out in shock.

"Please," Naruto begged, ignoring Hinata's protest. "I promise to pledge myself to you. I'll do whatever you say. I give you my word as a shinobi."

Neji snorted, sending Naruto's gaze up to the heir of the Hyuuga family. "Don't make me laugh," he sneered. "Why would the Hyuuga family ever let someone like you, a failure, into our clan? Honestly, can you believe the nerve of this boy, Father?" Neji raised one of his eyebrows when he heard no immediate response. Slowly, he turned his head toward Hizashi. The Hyuuga had his eyes closed, as if debating over the subject in his head. "Father, you can't earnestly be considering…" Neji began to question.

"The council will converse over this," Hizashi finally spoke.

"Father you can't-!"

"Silence, Neji," Hizashi commanded, causing his son to recoil back in shock. Hizashi stood up with the rest of the council and made his way toward the door behind him. "Everyone, into the other room. Uzumaki-san, Hinata-san, and Neji will stay here."

"What?" Neji said as his jaw dropped open. "Someday I'm going to be the head of this clan. Why must I remain while you leave?" he asked as the other members filed into the door.

"Because it is forbidden, Neji," his father replied, the only one left still in the room. "Someday you will know, but it is not this day. And though it is true you will inherit this clan, as of now you have not, which means that you will follow my orders when I give them to you. Do you understand?"

Neji gripped his hand into a fist in frustration. Finally, he turned his head away from his father, who closed the door to signal the end of the conversation. Naruto looked at the door and looked over to Neji. He, of course, understood what Hizashi had meant. It was the Kyuubi. It was obvious now that Neji had no idea of what was inside of him, and was why Hizashi did not permit him to enter.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata spoke up, snapping Naruto out of his thoughts. "Why did you do that? I have lived most of my life with the seal on me and I have prepared myself to know that I will always have it. You don't deserve the curse of…"

"Hinata," Naruto interrupted, "if anybody doesn't deserve that damn seal, it's you. Don't worry. If this does work, I'll go through with it. You deserve to be free, Hinata-chan."

"You are a fool to ask in the first place," Neji said this time. "If they do accept your offer, well then fine. Just know that for the rest of your life, you'll be answering to me."

Naruto glared at Neji, trying to contain the anger that was boiling up inside of him. Neji wasn't worth it, but Hinata was worth everything. He had established that when he had fought Haku only a couple days ago.

"He is right." Hinata and Naruto spun around in surprise, but Neji merely turned his head slightly to the right to look at the door. Just outside was a small figure glaring in, her blank, empty eyes filled with anger.

"Hanabi," Hinata said in a scolding, yet still nervous manner. "You should be more polite toward our guests."

After a few steps in the door, Hanabi turned to her older sister and merely stared at her, looking into the now turned purple eyes. "So it's true. You have lost your byakugan." Hinata felt her face grow read in embarrassment and looked away from the younger girl. "You should have stayed dead," Hanabi snarled, making Hinata jump. "What's the point of being a Hyuuga without the use of your byakugan? If you had an ounce of wisdom in you, you would have run away from this village and this clan. You are a fool."

"Hanabi-san," Neji said warningly. "You should watch what you say in my presence. Just for hearing all that you've just said, I should activate your seal right here and now. You're disrespect is appalling."

Naruto finally took notice of Hanabi's forehead. It had been covered by bandages, shielding the caged bird seal that no doubt lay just underneath it. She looked over at Neji impassively only for a second before she shifted her eyes over to Naruto.

"You can still run away…" she warned, stepping aside to leave the door completely unblocked. "The Hyuuga clan will not care. The most powerful clan in Konoha has no need for cowards. Just leave and we can forget this ever happened."

The only thing that stopped Naruto from punching Hanabi straight in the face at that moment was the fact that she was Hinata's sister. This kid sure had a lot of nerve to say all of those things to both him _and _Hinata. He looked over at Neji and back at Hanabi, chuckling to both of their surprise. Naruto just couldn't get over right then about how much they looked and acted like each other, despite the fact that they were on opposite sides of the family.

The door suddenly opened behind them, making all three of them turn toward the opened door. Hizashi stood there with an unreadable look on his face, though his looked straight at Naruto.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he said motioning for him to come forward, "if you will come with me."

Naruto stood to his feet, though he paused for a moment when Hinata grabbed his hand, holding him back. He turned back to her, softly smiling at her to reassure her that everything was going to be okay. Reluctantly, he pulled away and walked past Hizashi and through the door.

On his way through, he could hear Hanabi behind him muttering, "Fool…"

The room was only dimly lit by what few torches it had. Actually, the room was practically empty with the exception of the torches. The Hyuugas had made a wide circle around one area, where Hizashi held out an arm to tell Naruto where to stand. Naruto slowly walked past two Hyuugas, neither of them uttering one word at the boy as he passed. Hizashi followed closely, so now the Hyuugas had surrounded both Naruto and him.

"Kneel, Uzumaki Naruto," Hizashi said, to which Naruto complied. Hizashi stood there a moment, looking down at the boy bellow him. "You have offered yourself to the Hyuuga family, an offer that would not usually even be considered. But you are a unique case." Naruto did not reply, already knowing full well what he meant by it. "By now, I presume you have learned what you have within yourself?"

"…Yes, Hizashi-sama," Naruto replied, his right hand going to his stomach and gripping it. Inside of him, he could have sworn that he felt a soft rumble echo inside of him…almost like the growl of a beast.

"Then you know that you have much power within you, Naruto-san," Hizashi continued. "I will ask you this question once…will you pledge that power to the Hyuuga clan? Know that if you do pledge yourself to us, you will be forever pledging yourself to Konohakagure. You will not do anything without our permission and you will never leave this village without our permission. Do you swear that you will never go against our word?

"…Yes, Hizashi-sama," Naruto repeated, putting his head to the ground.

"Then remove your hitae-ate, Naruto-san," Hizashi commanded. Naruto obeyed, taking off his headband and putting it to the side. Hizashi then went through as series of complicated and quick seals. He then placed his right hand Naruto's forehead. "Know that there may be some pain through the process," he warned, before making a single hand seal with his left hand.

A sudden hot burst of pain burst in Naruto's head. He gripped his hands into fists and closed his eyes, trying to ignore the burning he was feeling on his forehead. It was as if hot iron was being pushed up against his forehead and hard. Through the pain, he opened his eyes again and looked at all the members of the Hyuuga household who watched. Some looked on impassively, some looked disgusted, and a few of them looked on in smug look of accomplishment. Finally, the pain disappeared and Naruto felt himself breathe easily once again.

"The Caged Bird Seal has been placed upon you," Hizashi spoke. Naruto brought his hand up to his forehead. Though it felt just the same as it always had, he had little doubt that the seal was on his head. "Now," Hizashi said, "I will show you what will happen if you should disobey any of our orders."

Hizashi made a quick motion with his wrist. Suddenly, pain unlike anything Naruto had ever imagined possible erupted inside of Naruto's head. In agony, he gripped his head with both hands and dropped to the floor, rolling on the ground. It felt as if his brain was being sawed in half. He couldn't think. He didn't know anything besides the pain that he felt. It was the worst thing he had ever felt in his entire life. Not able to take the pain anymore, Naruto let out an agonized scream that echoed throughout the entire room.

"Now do you realize what you have gotten into?" Hizashi asked, still not deactivating the seal and paying no heed to Naruto's continued screams. "From now on, your only purpose in life is to protect the main branch family of the Hyuuga family and nothing else. And since you are not originally a member of our clan, your position will be lower than even that of the branch family's." Finally, Hizashi deactivated the seal on Naruto's head. Even with the seal no longer activated, Naruto's body still shook from the pain that he had just experienced. It was all he could do to just look up at Hizashi. "Do you still pledge yourself to us?" the Hyuuga asked, looking down at Naruto with his blank, impassive eyes.

"…Yes, Hizashi-sama," Naruto said again while closing his eyes.

Hizashi nodded and turned his back to the boy. "Then welcome to the family, Uzumaki Hyuuga Naruto…"

* * *

Shikamaru raised his head in exhaustion, looking at the pile of books that now surrounded him. He had not slept ever since he had returned from the Land of Waves, he hadn't eaten either. The only thing he had done was read, read, and read some more.

"Come on, Shika," Choji complained across from him. "It's already past ten and I haven't even had dinner yet…" Shikamaru had arrived at his house around noon that day and had bribed Choji into accompanying him to the library to help with research. In return, Shikamaru promised to buy him both lunch and dinner. Too bad they haven't even left the library since they first arrived.

"Calm down," Shikamaru said looking over the book that he had in his hand. "You act like you're going to die if you don't eat in the next five minutes."

"Which could seriously happen!" Choji sighed, resting his chin on the desk and gripped his brown hair. "What are you looking for anyways? What could be so important that we would need to stay at a library for so long?"

"Research," Shikamaru replied simply before looking back down at his book. Choji groaned in response, realizing at this rate, he would never get his barbeque…

The librarian suddenly peaked around the corner at Shikamaru. "I'm sorry dears, but the library is closing now. You two can check out those books if you wish to continue reading them."

"Praise everything that is good in this world!" Choji yelled throwing his arms up in the air in relief, which earned him a sharp glare from the librarian. The Akimichi paid no attention though, being too busy with counting all of the things he would eat that night on his fingers.

"No thanks," Shikamaru said, taking the woman's attention off of Choji. "We'll put them back."

"Well it's about time," Shikamaru's best friend said standing to his feet. "And after all of that waiting I could eat for hours!"

"Just take it easy this time," Shikamaru said back before tossing a couple books at Choji. "Could you put these back where we found them? I'll meet you back at the door."

"Sure thing!" Choji shouted before grabbing the books and sprinting off the fastest Shikamaru had ever seen him run before.

Shikamaru leaned back in his chair and looked up at the rest of the books in front of him. The first one that he had gotten was The Analysis of Chakra, to check if red chakra was at all possible. In the end, he found that there was nothing in the book that said anything about chakra changing color. There were minor exceptions with elemental chakra, such as wind and water chakra. But the book had said that fire chakra, the only element Shikamaru could think of that could cause that kind of chakra was fire, only said that the chakra would be only slightly red, not scarlet like the time from fighting Zabuza.

The second one that he had gotten was A History of Konohakagure. Immediately, he turned to the "Attacks upon Konoha" chapter. Most of them in the last twelve years were minor, such as the abduction the Hyuuga heir by Kumo. The only one that had any major information was, not surprising, the attack of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

After much more reading and researching, he had arrived to the final book that he now held in his hand. When he had looked at the last time someone had checked it out, it was dated back seven years. Lucky for him though. He would rather not run around Konoha all day looking for just one book.

Shikamaru rubbed his head to try and dull the headache that had arisen due to the amount of studying he had just done. But in the end, along with some of Choji's help, it had guided him to the answer. The only problem was that he still had trouble believing it.

"Come on, Shika!" Choji shouted from the door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Shikamaru shouted back, deciding to just throw the books in the book return for the librarian to take care of. He lazily walked over to the desk and placed the books into basket one by one. Before putting the last book, he hesitated for a moment and gazed at the title. A Brief Summary of the Art of Sealing.

"Well, Naruto," Shikamaru said putting in the book. "Once again, you have proven that you are full of surprises…"

* * *

_I know that I'm going to get a lot of reviews from this, maybe some of them bad. Personally, I like how it turned out. Well, I just have to wait and see what you all think. I do hope that you enjoyed the chapter. I'll go into further detail about why and how the Hyuuga's made their decisions next chapter and Sarutobi's reaction to the situation. You can all look forward to it coming hopefully soon, we'll just have to see how things turn out for me. Oh, and by the way, Naruto won't get the Byakugan in this fic, he's only in the family, that is all._

_Two more things. If you ask me, Naruto's current costume is a little "non Hyuuga like". So, I've decided to change his outfit. The problem is that I'm not good with original costumes, so I'm going to see what you guys think. Send me a PM or a review to recommend a new outfit for Naruto that represents and is "worthy" of the Hyuuga clan. I'll choose the one that I like the best and put it in my fic. This will only last for this chapter and the next so if you have an idea you better act fast. If no one really replies, I'll have to make my own crummy one, so I'd like to see what everyone else can think of. Good luck everyone!_

_And lastly, remember that the Chunin exams are right around the corner, and I'm planning on finally using the jutsu ideas that people have been sending me during them. So if you have new ideas for jutsus for any character, I'd love to see them (remember, super-powered moves will only be accepted for supper-powered ninjas such as Kakashi, Orochimaru, and other Jonin or above ninjas). Well, I'll see you later everyone._

_GAZ_


	13. Day One With the Family

_Well everyone, it's that time again. That's right…it's another filler chapter! Yes, I know how much you're looking forward to it. But don't worry, this chapter will answer a lot of questions from the last chapter. Like I said, I expected all those angry reviews and PMs. But hey, it's my story. Not much more to say right now besides that. So without further ado, I give you the next chapter of A Different Path._

* * *

Naruto silently walked behind Hizashi with the one final box. The whole morning had consist of him of running back and forward from his former apartment to the Hyuuga mansion, taking all of his stuff to his new 'home'. Luckily for him, he had only had so many possessions in his home besides a couple of weapons and various other knickknacks of little importance.

When he had returned, Hizashi was waiting for him and was now instructing him on some of the roles and customs of the Hyuuga family. Behind Naruto followed Hinata and, much to his frustration, Neji. Hinata had received permission from Hizashi to assist Naruto, which was the reason why she was there. Naruto suspected that Neji was only there to annoy him.

"As I have already told you," Hizashi continued as they walked down the hall in front of Naruto, "your position in the family, Naruto-san, is even lower than that of the branch family. That would mean that not only will you have to respect the wishes of the main family, but that of the branch family. Though it is true that they do not possess the capability to activate your seal, it does not mean that they don't know other methods of forcing you to obey them."

"Yes, Hizashi-sama," Naruto said robotically, after all, it was what he had been saying all that morning. It made him want to rip out his hair every time he said it. The only thing that kept him going was when he looked behind him and saw Hinata. Though she still wore her hitae-ate on her forehead, it still gave him peace at mind knowing that she was no longer covering that caged bird seal…like he.

"But although you may be on the lowest part of the tree, that does not mean that you will be restricted to everything," the head Hyuuga member said. Naruto looked up in mild surprise. All he had ever heard from Hizashi was what he _couldn't_ do. "You are permitted, and well advised, to study in the library of the house. It holds much information about the ways of the shinobi, as well as much of our clan's noble and glorious history."

Naruto went into a fit of coughing to mask up the snort that had escaped him, though he still received a sharp glare from Neji. Hizashi, though, did not even turn around to face him.

"You will also be taught a mild degree of our jyuuken," Hizashi said. Naruto suddenly got interested. He had always been impressed by Hinata's jyuuken fighting and had often wished that he too would be able to use it someday. "Of course your training in it will only cover the basics at most. Without the byakugan, the style is will not be nearly as effective."

Naruto sighed in disappointment. Easy come easy go he guessed.

"But I am sure that you will be able to get the concept of it. If you have any questions about the style, you may ask Neji. He will be your mentor and will watch over you for the first couple of weeks here at the Hyuuga mansion," Hizashi said.

"What?!" Naruto exclaimed, looking back at Neji. The young prodigy Hyuuga merely scowled back at him, though his seemed smugger than Naruto's. "You can't be serious…Hizashi-sama," Naruto tried to protest.

"I am," Hizashi responded, suddenly stopping and turning back to the three teens behind him. "Neji will one day inherit leadership of this clan and is second in power in the family. Who would be better to teach you of our ways than our heir?"

"But…couldn't Hinata-chan-"

"Hinata-sama," Hizashi corrected. "She is your superior now and will address her as such."

Naruto gripped his fist in anger, though kept his anger under control. He had not yet forgotten the pain that the cursed seal had done to him. "Couldn't Hinata-sama teach me instead?"

"I don't think so, Naruto-san," Hizashi said. "Though you may try and deny it, you do not view Hinata as your superior. Not yet anyways. Neji will make sure that you learn to respect the rest of the Hyuuga family. Plus," he said looking over at his son, "it will give him the opportunity to learn what it is like to lead another, like he will later in his life."

_Like you reminded me eighty times…_ Naruto thought without taking his gaze off of Neji.

"And besides," Hizashi said looking over Naruto's shoulder at the young girl behind him. "Hinata-san will be going through special training as well."

Hinata suddenly started in surprise. "M-me?" she questioned.

"Yes," Hizashi responded. "You see, the jyuuken style is a very useful form of taijutsu…but without the byakugan, the style's efficiency lacks if one cannot see the inner coil system of their opponent. Naruto-san is learning it more for the sake of tradition in the family, not for use. You though, Hinata-san, have fought all your life using the jyuuken style. So since it will take too much time to teach you and become competent at regular taijutsu, we will have to teach you how to use the jyuuken without the byakugan."

"How will I be able to do that?" Hinata asked.

"You'll have to learn more about the chakra system in the human body and possibly memorize the entire system. I, personally, will teach you. And in the mean time, I will also attempt to find a way to unlock your byakugan again."

"T-thank you, Hizashi-sama," Hinata said bowing in respect. "And I accept your offer to train me."

"Very good," Hizashi said opening the door beside him. "We will begin our training later today. But moving along now. This, Naruto-san, will be your new room. It is not the largest of our living quarters, but it should treat you well enough."

Naruto couldn't help but drop his jaw in disbelief. If this was one of the smaller rooms, then all the other rooms had to be enormous! He wouldn't doubt it after looking at the mansion from the outside. The room that he was in was no doubt at least twice the size of his old apartment. A simple bed sat in the corner and the only thing left in it was a dresser, mirror, and a large desk and chair. The room was practically empty.

_I'm going to have to get some more stuff_, Naruto realized as he entered the room and looked around it in wonder.

"I'll leave you and Neji to unpack your possessions," Hizashi said slightly closing the door. "I will see you both later."

Naruto looked back just in time to see Hinata looking into the room from behind Hizashi and towards him. Naruto sent her a thumbs up in comfort, though worry still shown in her purple eyes. Then the door closed, cutting him and her off in more ways than one.

"Well," Neji said looking over at Naruto. "You heard my father. Unpack your things so we may get to your training."

Naruto didn't even respond, though he did have a couple insults in mind that he could shout at Neji, he was pretty sure that each of them would either earn him a second activation of his seal or a major ass whoop. He paused a moment after opening his first box, gripping the sides tight. The image of him nailing Neji in the face was fresh in his mind, but he wasn't that much of an idiot anymore. He already knew that he didn't stand a chance against him. Hinata had told him everything about the Hyuuga's prodigal son. He wanted to kick Neji's ass, he wanted to do that more than anything in the world at that moment. But he just wasn't strong enough to do it…yet.

"…What is this?"

Naruto turned around and faced his "mentor". Neji had been going through Naruto's other box of belongings and was holding up a bikini kunoichi calendar that he had gotten at the beginning of the year.

"Its calendar, Neji-sama," Naruto said sarcastically.

Neji's blank eyes narrowed in anger. "I know perfectly well _what _it is. What I want to know is why you have this…filth in your belongings."

"I'm not too sure…perhaps remind me of dates, keep track of the days…

"Do not mock me! This is dishonorable and will not be tolerated within the Hyuuga family. I will dispose of this," he said turning around to walk away.

Naruto flipped Neji the middle finger as he opened the door to leave. Suddenly, his head exploded in pain and he was once again on the ground. He began to pull at his blonde hair, unable to take the pain.

Suddenly, it stopped. Naruto opened his eyes, confused of what was happening. This wasn't like the last time when the seal had been activated. When it was done, he could still feel the aftershock of the pain. But now, it was completely gone. Naruto looked up at Neji from the ground, and saw that he still had his palm out to activate the seal. The blonde Genin only felt more confused. This was definitely not normal.

"I saw that," Neji said putting down his palm and blinking once to reactivate his byakugan. Naruto let out a breath when it was clear that Neji had not noticed that his seal had deactivated earlier than intended. "That was a mere warning. Next time you disobey me, it will be much worse." Neji began to walk out the door, and then suddenly stopped. Naruto looked up in suspicion, wondering what was going on.

"What?" Naruto finally asked.

"…I believe that some punishment is in order for your disrespect," the older boy said, looking over his shoulder toward Naruto with an amused smirk on his face. "Continue to unpack your things and meet me outside the front door in an hour."

"Fine," Naruto said turning back around to his box of things.

"I don't think I heard that correctly…"

Naruto clenched his fist and looked back at Neji reluctantly. "Yes, Neji-sama."

"Good."

Neji closed the door and walked down the hallway, making sure to keep an eye on Naruto while doing so. The newly adopted Hyuuga had decided to go back to his unpacking, obviously not in much of a hurry to leave the room. Neji stopped. Very slowly, he looked around cautiously to see if anybody else was around with his byakugan.

_One hundred pushups every morning and night outside of training for a month, _Neji thought to himself. Finally, after he was sure that no one else was around, he flipped the calendar that he had open to the first month. After looking at the first picture though, he decided that it would be better to make it two months.

* * *

"But you must understand why Hokage-sama is concerned about this," the Chunin in front of Hizashi explained.

Hizashi once again brought his cup of tea to his mouth, taking another sip from its contents. "Yes, I understand," he said with closed eyes. "But I can assure you, the idea of Uzumaki Naruto to join our clan was made by him and so was the decision. He made the offer and I decided to accept. You may ask him yourself if you wish."

"It's not that we don't question if he made the decision or not, it's just that we are not sure if this would be best for him. The Hokage merely has Naruto's best interests at heart," the Chunin said placing his hands onto the desk that he stood behind and leaning forward. "Not only that, but this could set the entire village afire in debate. Hokage-sama has already received many complaints about-"

"I already understand how serious this decision is. I took into account everything you said already, so everything you're telling me is meaningless now. Hizashi set his tea cup on the desk and looked up at the Chunin. "Though I must say, this seems to be a bit more personal to you than a requested trip from Hokage-sama. Would you mind if I ask your name and if you know him in anyway?"

The Chunin stood up straight again and looked around the room uncomfortably. "Yes, I do know him. My name is Umino Iruka. I was his teacher while he was in the academy. I also trained your son and Hinata as well."

"Ah, yes, now I recognize you," Hizashi said standing up from his seat. "Let me assure you Iruka-san, Naruto will be perfectly safe in my household. If the Hokage wishes it, I am able to visit Hokage-sama later today."

"Actually, that was what I was sent to schedule. He wants you there at three. And…" Iruka trailed off for a minute, as if debating over what he was to say next.

"Go on," Hizashi said.

Iruka hesitated again. "…He said, 'Don't be late'," the chunin finally said. Hizashi closed his eyes for a moment. It looked like he was in even more trouble than he had originally thought.

"Very well," Hizashi said. "I promise to be there."

"The Hokage appreciates it, Hizashi-san," Iruka said bowing in respect to his elder. "And sir…could I request taking Naruto out for ramen sometimes? We often go to Ichiraku together. I'm just wondering if it would be alright…"

"It is fine, Iruka-san," Hizashi said. "But you should consult with my son, Neji, also. I put Naruto under his wing for training. If he has no problem with it, then neither do I."

"Of course," Iruka said, forming a hand sign and disappearing in a poof of smoke. Hizashi sighed to himself. Chunins, they always would rather disappear fashionably than just walk out a door like any normal person. His right hand also went to his forehead, rubbing his temples and trying to dull his headache.

The Hyuuga stood slowly to his feet and looked out the window as a whole flock of birds suddenly flew out of a far off tree, still rubbing his head. For the last day and a half he's had a constant headache. He supposed that it was just a "bonus" of Naruto joining the family. He wouldn't be surprised after hearing all of the stories about the blonde.

The problem was that it wasn't Naruto himself that was giving him a headache, but the uproar that he was causing. The entire Hyuuga clan had, with lack of better words, gone nuts in the matter of an hour. Uzumaki Naruto, the scourge of Konohakagure, was now a part of their clan.

The entire family was now literally divided into half between the ignorant and the greedy. The ignorant believed that the boy should be killed in his sleep as soon as he closed his eyes, thinking that it was the best way to rid the Kyuubi from the earth. The greedy on the other hand, viewed Naruto not as a threat. Instead, they saw him as a symbol of how powerful their clan really was. It showed the entire village they were not afraid of the Kyuubi. Hizashi had even heard rumors around the house about some members wondering if they could somehow harness the demon's power for their clan.

Hizashi sighed, closing his eyes in thought. Naruto had only been able to join by his decision after a brief but very heated debate on whether he should be allowed to join or not. To speak truly, he didn't really know why he chose to let the boy join. He knew too well that Naruto was not the Kyuubi. If anything, he was the exact opposite. Hizashi knew the Kyuubi. He had looked the demon straight in the eye twelve years ago. Yesterday, he had not seen that same look in Naruto's eyes. Instead, he saw a look of determination to stand firm to his beliefs and to protect his friends. They were the marks of a strong ninja, and a great hero. What would the Fourth have thought if he saw the villagers he had fought so hard to protect act so cruelly towards a child.

"Once again, Yondaime, you've put me in quite a pickle," he said with a sad chuckle.

Hizashi turned back to his desk and looked at the small picture frame on it. If anyone outside of the Hyuuga clan would have seen it, they probably would have thought that it was a picture of himself. In truth, it was his twin deceased brother, Hiashi.

"I wonder, Hiashi," Hizashi said to the picture, "would you have made the same decision as I have? Would all of this even happen if our rolls had been reversed?"

He did not know the answer to his question and he knew that he will never know for sure. He looked away from the picture and out the window once again, trying to ignore the ache in his heart that came from missing his brother. He knew that he had to move on though. He had taken the first step that day. The room that he had given Naruto had once belonged to Hiashi…

* * *

Not much farther away from the area where Team 7 had their bell test against Kakashi, Naruto followed Neji on a forest path. Supposedly, he was going to his "punishment". Naruto's best guess of what was about to happen was that Neji was going to try and kick the living shit out of him and leave him to get back to the mansion all by himself. Naruto had made sure to bring all of his ninja equipment and had even brought a couple of soldier pills, something he hardly ever used.

His mind wasn't on Neji at the moment though. Instead, he was still wondering why the Caged Bird Seal had deactivated on its own. He was pretty sure that it wasn't supposed to be that, and he was also pretty sure that Neji wouldn't have deactivated it on accident.

_**You're a little slow, aren't you…?**_

Naruto jumped in surprise and looked at Neji, seeing if he too had heard the voice. It was obvious that he hadn't. Naruto felt some fear well up in him. There was no doubt about it. The voice was the Kyuubi's.

_What do you want, fox? _Naruto asked, trying to sound braver than he felt. He hadn't forgotten what the Kyuubi's words had turned him into when he was at the Land of Waves, but this time he was prepared to fight it off.

_**Just decided to enlighten you to the current situation. Although I must say, it has been truly entertaining seeing you attempt to solve the problem on your own. Not that it seems that you can do anything on your own. What a pathetic shinobi you are…**_

Naruto decided to not argue with the demon. _So what are you saying, you're the one that stopped the seal?_

_**That's right, **_the Kyuubi chuckled. _**You see, this seal thing does not make me happy. Not one bit. By putting that seal on yourself you put yourself at risk, which in turn puts me at risk…and I will not be at risk.**_

_So what are you saying?_

_**Here's how this is going to work,**_ the demon fox said in an almost business like tone. _**Every time the seal activates, I'll contain it enough so that it won't do any lasting damage on yourself. Or more specifically, me. The problem is that if you don't feel any, the Hyuuga brat may catch on. So I'll leak some of the pain out so that you know when the seal activates and deactivates. How much pain you'll feel will depend on how happy with you I feel at that given time.**_

_Great, my protection is riding on a demon who hates my guts, _Naruto said sarcastically.

_**You really don't have any choice. Remember kid, don't make me mad. And try to stay on the Hyuuga brat's good side also. I'd rather not use up too much of my energy for your sake.**_

Naruto suddenly couldn't feel the Kyuubi anymore. Or at least not as much. The blonde couldn't say that he was okay with the situation, but like the Kyuubi said, he really didn't have a choice.

The entire time, Neji hadn't look back at Naruto. If Naruto didn't know any better, he would have thought that Neji had forgotten about him, but he was pretty sure that Neji's byakugan was already activated and was staring at him at that very moment. So in the end, Naruto merely continued walking and hoped that Neji hadn't noticed anything.

"So where are we going anyways?" Naruto finally asked, not able to take the unbearable silence any longer.

"Training Ground Number Twenty-one," Neji responded, still not looking back at Naruto, which was really starting to tick him off. Was he not good enough to even look back at? "My team is scheduled to meet there today for training."

Naruto paused a moment and looked at Neji weirdly for a moment. "So that's my punishment? Walking you to the training course? Or are you taking me to train with your team? Not that I'm complaining or anything, but this seems like a pretty crappy punishment."

Neji laughed and turned his head to face Naruto while still walking. "Oh, don't worry. This is going to be punishment alright."

Naruto shrugged back, figuring that if Neji thought that this was a horrible punishment, well then that was fine with him.

A couple minutes later, the two of them finally arrived to a clearing, where a young girl in a pink shirt, brown pants, and two buns in her hair waited looking up at the sky. As the two of them came closer, she turned her head in their direction and gave a small, yet slightly uncomfortable, smile toward Neji.

"Hey, Neji-kun," the girl said as they finally got to her. "How's everything?"

"Everything is fine, for the most part, Tenten," Neji responded, looking around for a moment.

Tenten then looked past her teammate and at Naruto, who had decided to remain quite. "Who's the kid?" she asked. Naruto felt frustration rise inside of him again. Did he _look_ like he was five years old?

"This," Neji said looking back at Naruto, "is Uzumaki Hyuuga Naruto, my father has recently accepted him into the clan. He's put me in charge of him and I have decided to bring him to our training today."

"Uzumaki _Hyuuga_ Naruto?" Tenten asked, looking down at the boy. Naruto couldn't help but feel uncomfortable under the older kunoichi's shocked and intense stare. "I had heard rumors that someone had been accepted into the Hyuuga family. I had thought that it was a bunch of lies…"

"They weren't," Neji said bluntly. "Now, where's the other two?" he asked, suddenly changing the subject.

Tenten pointed to the left and sighed. Along with the two older shinobi, Naruto looked in the direction that she was pointing and saw probably the strangest thing he had ever seen in his life. There was a man and a boy who were both dressed and looked exactly the same, right down to their disturbingly bushy eyebrows. They were dressed fully in green, with the exception that the older man was wearing a Jonin vest. Together, they were both standing on their hands and were somehow able to jump up and down on them without falling.

"Good work, Lee!" the elder man said as he flipped back to his feet and winked at the boy and gave him a thumb up. "It does my heart good watching you work so hard. If you keep training like this, you just might become as strong as me someday!"

"Are you serious, Gai-sensei!" the boy yelled, flipping over and also standing to his feet. "If that would come true, then all of my greatest wishes will be realized!"

Gai's face suddenly darkened and scowled down at Lee. "Why did you stop your exercise?! I can already do these, and that is why I stopped. You though, Lee, have yet to master the exercise. You cannot sluff off on your training!" Gai suddenly drew back his fist and punched Lee straight in the jaw, sending the boy spiraling backwards for several feet.

Naruto's jaw dropped as he watched all of this happen. In dismay, he looked over at both Tenten and Neji to see how they looked, but saw that the two of them looked more bored than they were surprised. Naruto looked back at the two, but saw that Gai had already approached Lee again, who was trying to rise back to his feet after the blow he had just endured.

"I'm sorry, Lee," the odd Jonin said kneeling down to get eye level with his student. "But…I'm only doing this for your own good. You dream to become a great ninja someday, and I am trying to help you achieve that goal. That's because…" Tears suddenly formed in Gai's eyes as he looked down at Lee, "it is also my dream as well!"

Lee looked up as tears came to his eyes as well. "Gai-sensei!" Lee yelled, running into the arms of his master as the two of them wept together while yelling each other's names.

"…What just happened there?" Naruto asked Neji, completely forgetting that he had been angry at him only moments before.

"Those two do this all the time," Neji said sighing. "Eventually, you just learn to expect it."

"Yeah, this is the second time today that that's happened," Tenten said rubbing the back of her head with a slight blush on her cheeks. She turned back at her sensei and teammate and shouted, "Gai-sensei! Lee! Neji's shown up!"

Gai and Lee looked up from their bawling simultaneously at Tenten, Neji, and Naruto as if they had just then realized that they were around, which may have actually been the case. Gai shakily stood to his feet and looked down at his student again. "We'll continue your training tomorrow, but until then we must lend our extra youthfulness to our comrades!"

"Yes sir!" Lee shouted with a salute. Gai looked as if he was going to burst into tears once more, but only shook his head to clear his mind and put a firm hand on Lee's shoulder before they both began to walk over to join the three other ninja. Lee though, charged forward faster than Gai, coming face to face with Neji.

"Ha! Well met my eternal rival, Hyuuga Neji!" Lee yelled clenching his fist as flames shot from his eyes.

Naruto blinked twice and looked over at Tenten. "Did his eyes just catch on fire?" he asked pointing.

"Neji and I have decided to just ignore it," Tenten said with an embarrassed laugh.

Neji slowly pushed Lee's fist down with two fingers and sighed as he shook his head. "Lee, must you say that every time I come to training?"

"Yes I must!" Lee shouted again, making Naruto cringe at how loud the strange looking boy was. "Just you watch, Neji! Someday I will defeat you, and show the village…no, the entire world that one can be a splendid ninja by just working hard and not being born talented!"

"Settle down, Lee," Gai said, placing a hand on Lee's head. "That may be your dream, but for now we shall act as teammates. You must always remember that."

"Yes sir," Lee said grudgingly. His unusually round eyeballs suddenly found themselves on Naruto, which he looked at curiously. Gai also looked over and seemed to finally realize that they had a fifth member in their company that day. The two stood there for a moment staring at the other. For a moment, Naruto's blood turned cold, wondering if this was another villager who hated his guts and wished him to be dispelled out of the village...or worse. This feeling of forbooding quickly died away though as Gai suddenly stuck his arm out in a thumb up pose and gave a wink as his teeth shone in the sunlight.

"Hello, my comrade in youthfulness! What a pleasure it is to see you today. I am Maito Gai! By whom am I addressing?" Gai asked excitedly.

_He sure warms up to people quickly, _thought Naruto as a small sweat drop formed on the back of his head. Of course, that was probably what he had been hoping for anyways. "Um…hey, Gai-sensei. My name is Uzumaki…Hyuuga Naruto."

Naruto noticed that Lee's gigantic eyebrows raised a tad bit in surprise, but Gai on the other hand seemed to be thinking very hard. "Uzumaki…Uzumaki…I have it!" the man yelled, pointing once again at Naruto. "You're one of Kakashi's students, aren't you?" Naruto nodded back, surprised that Kakashi would affiliate himself in any way, shape, or form with someone like the guy that was standing right in front of him. Gai placed a hand on his chin and nodded with a sly grin on his face. "Yes, I know Kakashi well. I'm sure you know all about me though. My eternal rival must talk about me all the time!"

Naruto looked back in confusion. "Uh, sorry, but I haven't heard him talk about you for as long as I've been his student."

Gai fell backwards as if he had been hit by a bus, but was back on his feet in a matter of seconds with his hand in a fist, looking away from his students and Naruto. _Darn you Kakashi, pretending to not know anything about me! _Gai thought in anger. _Someday I'll show you and your cool attitude a thing or two. Just you wait!_

"Gai-sensei," Neji spoke up. "I hate to interrupt you, but I have a request for today's training."

Gai snapped out of his slump and turned back to Neji, suddenly looking serious. Naruto had never met someone with bigger mood swings than this man. "Yes, what is it?" the green clad Jonin asked.

"As I said before to Tenten," Neji said tilting his head in Naruto's direction, "Naruto-san has been recently been accepted into our clan and has been placed under my care. I understand that he enjoys training, is that right, Naruto-san?"

"…Yes," Naruto replied.

"Yes, what?"

Naruto rolled his eyes in frustration at his mentor. "Yes, Neji-sama," he muttered.

"…Anyways," the heir to the Hyuuga family said. "I've decided to bring him here today. Gai-sensei, would it be alright if we let Naruto train with Lee alone today? Lee could do his normal routine that he does every morning and we can go off alone to do our training."

Gai pondered this for a moment, looking over at his look-alike student. "Lee, would you like to aid Naruto-kun with his training?"

"Of course!" Lee yelled saluting. "Anything to pass down youthfulness to the next generation." Naruto sighed once again, feeling as if he had gotten about five years younger from when he went to sleep the previous night.

"Good man, Lee," Gai said placing a hand on his shoulder. "You truly are a great person, always thinking of others first. If I had a son, I would hope that he would be just like you…"

Lee looked up as tears formed in his eyes. "Gai-sensei…"

"Excuse me," Tenten said raising her hand. "Could you two do this later? We've already wasted enough time with all of this."

"Yes, your right, Tenten," Gai said standing up straight. "Lee, you will train with Naruto-san with your normal workout routine. Neji, Tenten, and I will commence with our normal training. We'll see you tomorrow morning at ten where we will continue our training."

"Yes sir!" Lee said. Gai gave one last nice guy pose to Lee and then jumped into the treetops with Tenten following closely. Neji looked one last time at Naruto, and then followed his sensei and teammate into the trees, leaving Naruto and Lee alone together.

"Naruto-kun," Lee spoke up, "it definitely is a pleasure to meet you."

"Yeah, you too," Naruto said awkwardly.

"But enough pleasantries!" Lee shouted pumping his fist in the air. "Training awaits us! Come! To start off, let us do a lap around the village!" he said starting to jog off.

"What!?" Naruto shouted in dismay. "What the heck do you mean one lap around the village? That's insane!"

Lee suddenly froze in his tracks, surprising Naruto. He took a step back for a moment, seeing that Lee's shoulders had suddenly started to shake, and he was pretty sure that he could hear a couple sobs coming from him as well.

"Uh…sorry if I offended you," Naruto said, not too sure what exactly he had just done to insult the older boy.

"…Offend me?" Lee asked, turning around and revealing his bright, pearly white smile. "Naruto-kun, your youthfulness certainly is admirable! You are right: _one _lap around the village is ridiculous. If we truly want to become great shinobi, we must push ourselves further. Okay then! Instead, it will be _three _laps around the village! Let us go! If we hurry, we may be able to get the rest of our training done before supper."

"That's not what I meant!" Naruto shouted in dismay, waving his arms in front of him, but Lee had already started running down the path. With a groan, Naruto took a deep breath and began running after Lee.

* * *

Hizashi calmly walked through the large building where the Hokage of Konohakagure lived and conducted business. The Hyuuga head member knew that this may not turn out well for him. Sarutobi hardly ever scheduled personal meetings with only one person, and most of the time the meetings ended poorly for the one that was invited. For the first time in a very long time, Hizashi felt a small twinge of apprehension form inside of him.

He looked from side to side at the many shinobi and citizens that he happened to pass by. Nearly every time, the person that he looked at would quickly dart his or her head away from his direction and try and look natural. Some of the more bolder (or foolish) people glared at him, either in disgust or anger. Hizashi decided to brush it off though. For a Hyuuga to cower in front of such people would be nothing less than embarrassing and dishonorable.

He calmly approached the desk where a shinobi sat, leaning back in his seat. He wore a slightly impassive face. His hitae-ate was wrapped around head, covering his hair except for the long strands that came out in the back and on the side. In his mouth he chewed on a senbon, which moved up and down as he played with it with his tongue. His eyes didn't seem to look at Hizashi in anger like others had. He looked more like he was examining Hizashi, as if wondering what to think of him.

"I'm here to see Hokage-sama," Hizashi said politely.

"Yeah, I know," the shinobi in front of him said standing to his feet. "He's right through this door waiting for you."

He opened the door that was behind him and allowed Hizashi to enter first, which Hizashi nodded back to him in thanks. The hokage was busy looking through a large amount of paperwork that was on his desk, not at first paying attention to the two new visitors. When Hizashi and his escort stopped in the room though, Sarutobi's eyes immediately locked onto him, and the Hyuuga once again felt a little uneasy.

"Hyuuga-san is here to see you, Hokage-sama," the shinobi that escorted him in said to Sarutobi.

"Thank you, Genma," Sarutobi said nodding. "Please, leave us. And make sure that no one comes in and interferes with our meeting."

"Of course, Hokage-sama," Genma said turning around to leave. Hizashi watched Genma leave until the door was completely closed behind them, assuring both him and Sarutobi that they would be able to converse without interruption.

The old hokage outstretched his hand toward a chair that sat on the opposite side of his desk. "Have a seat, Hizashi-san," he said in a more commanding voice than anything else. Wordlessly, Hizashi obeyed and sat down, awaiting Sarutobi to speak.

The hokage sighed before lifting his pipe up to his mouth and breathing out a long stream of smoke. After he did, Sarutobi removed the pipe from his mouth and frowned over at Hizashi. "You have caused me quite a bit of trouble lately, Hizashi-san."

"I would imagine, Hokage-sama," Hizashi replied nodding.

The two sat in silence for a moment, staring at the other. Finally, Sarutobi once again started up the conversation. "I'm not going to mince words with you, Hizashi. I am not happy about this situation."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Hizashi said as politely as he could, preparing himself what was about to come his way.

"If I am informed correctly, you not only adopted Uzumaki Naruto without filing any legal documents or informing me whatsoever, but you also branded him with the Caged Bird Seal of your clan. Most of the clans in this village would never even imagine doing what you have done. Do you know that the council even went so far as to suggest to immediately send ANBU agents to hunt you down and bring you back here for questioning? It was only by my command that it did not happen. I will ask you this one time, Hizashi…what in the world were you thinking?" Sarutobi asked.

Hizashi took a deep breath before speaking. "I have informed the man that you sent down to question me already that Uzumaki Naruto volunteered to have the seal placed on him. I can assure you that I had no plan at all of this actually happening…"

"Don't give me that," the Hokage interrupted sternly. "It is not the matter of if you wanted it to happen or not. The fact of the matter is that it _did _happen, Hizashi. That's what's wrong. This would be a problem if you did this to any person in this village, but we are talking Uzumaki Naruto here. I don't think I need to explain myself why villagers are concerned about this…"

"They believe that the Hyuuga clan would use Naruto to gain power and influence in Konoha. They think that he will be turned into a weapon to use against them," the Hyuuga said in understanding.

Sarutobi nodded back. "Exactly. If the Uchiha clan was still around, I have little doubt that civil war would erupt between the two of you due to the bad blood that you two have. But even though they are gone, that does not mean that the possibility of civil war is not out of reach. In short, Hizashi, you have endangered the safety of your clan, Naruto, and the entire village of Konoha when you adopted Naruto. Do you understand, Hizashi?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Hizashi nodded back in respect. Sarutobi let out an exhausted sigh as he replaced his pipe in his mouth and blew out a smoke ring toward the ceiling. "We have talked about the village so far," Hizashi spoke. "What do you think of the situation, Hokage-sama?"

"I think," the Hokage said looking back at Hizashi, "that you are letting your feelings impair your judgment."

Hizashi remained silent this time, not knowing how to respond now. When he continued to remain silent, the Hokage stood to his feet and walked to the window, gazing out at the village. Or more rather, toward the large monument that overlooked the village. "If I remember correctly, you and the Yondaime both grew up together in the academy, am I correct?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Hizashi said gazing at Sarutobi's back.

"He, your brother, and you were quite close if I remember correctly," Sarutobi said looking over his shoulder at the Hyuuga. "And if my memory is still not as old as I believe it is, I do believe that the three of you were sent down here on a number of occasions to speak with me…"

Hizashi's left corner of his mouth twitched upwards for a split second, but it was gone in an instant. The Sandaime knew well enough what it was though. It wasn't an uncontrolled twitch of proud arrogance. No, it was the faintest flash of a smile from memories of the past. Sarutobi couldn't help but feel relieved from the action. Perhaps the Hyuuga weren't as emotionless as everyone claims them to be.

"We were pretty disappointed when we weren't placed onto the same teams together when we became genin," Hizashi said in agreement.

Sarutobi turned fully around and looked at the Hyuuga straight into his blank white eyes. "Then you can assure me that his is not some kind of way of getting revenge on the Kyuubi? Of all people, I would assume that you would know that Naruto is not the demon, but a hero for bearing the burden of carrying the Kyuubi inside of him."

"Yes," Hizashi agreed again. "After that night, when you told us what had happened to the Yondaime, I admit that I was angry that he had passed on. But now I feel regret, knowing that I did not follow the final wish that he gave the village before he died."

"So you are claiming that you are doing this for the sake of the boy?" Sarutobi asked.

Hizashi once again went into silence for a moment. "I just wish to follow my friend's final wish before he died," the Hyuuga said calmly. "That is all."

The two shinobi stared at each other seriously. Sarutobi removed his red Hokage hat and placed it on a table near him before closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. For the first time in a long time, Hizashi saw what Sarutobi really was…a wise, old, and tired leader who wanted only the best for his village and its people.

The hokage opened his eyes once again and turned back to the window that he had been looking out of. "I will place Uzumaki Naruto under your care," Sarutobi finally said. "As long as you promise me that he will be protected in your family and well cared for. The boy has never had a family before in his life. It would be good for him to finally know what one is like."

"Of course," Hizashi said. "Thank you very much…I will let myself out," he said before turning around to leave the room.

"Not so fast," Sarutobi said before he left. Hizashi turned back around and saw that Sarutobi had once again put on a very serious face, perhaps even one more serious than before.

"…Yes?" Hizashi asked.

"I have one more thing that I want to speak to you about before you leave," the old Hokage said walking back to his desk and sitting down in his chair. "You might want to sit down…"

* * *

Naruto collapsed to the ground from what had been the most exhausting day of training that he had ever gone through. Each exercise had been more excruciating than the last. He went from laps, to punches, then squats, kicks, and pushups. On normal occasion, Naruto would have no trouble doing any of these exercises. The problem was that every one of them had an additional factor that made it more difficult. Naruto was pretty sure that he now had permanent back damage from when Lee suddenly put a very, _very _large log on his shoulders while he was doing his squats. By the time he was at his pushups, he could only do thirty of his usual eighty. Lee did two hundred. By the time they were done with that, the sky had become a dark blue as the sun hid behind the Hokage monument in the west.

"Wahoo!" Lee yelled as he finished his last pushup and jumped to his feet. "What a great workout today! You know, Naruto-kun, you and I should train more often together. I hardly ever have someone to train with!"

"I can't imagine why," Naruto panted, not able to life his own body from the ground. "…You're brutal, you know that, Lee? Either that or just plain crazy. You're actually telling me that you all of this ever single day?"

Lee looked down at Naruto in confusion. "Oh, no Naruto-kun! This is only the Tuesday work out schedule. I do all kinds of other things every other day. But we can talk about that some other time. We still have one last thing to do in training today."

"You're kidding me," Naruto said groaning before shakily standing to his feet. "Alright, alright, but I'm pretty sure that I won't survive your next one. So what's it going to be, climbing up the Konoha Waterfall?"

"Of course not," Lee said waving his arm at Naruto with a laugh. "I only do that on Saturdays!" Naruto's left eye suddenly twitched uncontrollably. "Instead," Lee continued, "we will have combat practice! It's not everyday that I'm able to test my skills on a new opponent."

Naruto perked up suddenly. Finally, something he was actually good at! He quickly stood to his feet and straightened his headband. "Well good, I'm raring for a good match too! Besides, I need to prepare myself for the Chunin exams coming up!"

"The Chunin exams, eh?" Lee asked as his lips curled upwards into a smile. "Well then that means that we will both be opponents in the exam. My team is participating in the exams this year as well. How about we test ourselves against each other to see where we stand."

"Alright with me," Naruto said forming a seal. "Just don't get mad at me if I'm too tough for you. Kage bushin no jutsu!" Six bushins burst into existence behind Naruto, each of them preparing themselves to fight Lee.

"Ah, kage bushin," Lee said commendably. "That is a very high level jutsu, Naruto-kun. I am honored to face such an advanced skill!"

"Well you better get ready," Naruto let one of his clones say back smiling, trying to make it look like it was him. "You're okay and all, Lee, but I need to have some payback for the training you put me. So let's go!"

Four clones ran in front of Naruto while he fell back a little to confuse his opponent. The two front clones leapt forward to attack Lee, but the taller genin's nimbleness seemed too much for the kage bushins. Lee easily dodged the two punches and easily defeated them with a single powerful punch each. Naruto and his remaining bushins suddenly stopped for a moment, examining Lee again. He had defeated his kage bushins as if it was nothing. It looked like Lee was a bit tougher than he had expected.

_Well, let's see how he can handle four clones,_ Naruto thought smirking. Four kage bushins suddenly popped out of the trees on every side of Lee, obviously taking the taller boy by surprise. Naruto and his clones all smiled simultaneously, but their grins vanished when Lee grinned back and disappeared. Naruto looked around for a moment and then looked up to see that Lee had jumped into the air and had allowed himself be surrounded by the clones.

"Konoha Daisenpu!" he yelled, sending a powerful kick to each of Naruto's clones in quick succession. Naruto watched helplessly as he clones flew backwards and disappeared without even scratching Lee.

"Whoa," Naruto muttered looking back at Lee, who had landed back to the ground and prepared himself for another of Naruto's attacks.

"That was a well planned move," Lee complimented. "When you made your kage bushins, you made some within the trees in secret, leaving me unprepared for an attack from else ware. But you are going to have to do better than that to beat me. Come, Naruto-kun! Do not hold back!"

Naruto hesitantly went through the seals of his second best jutsu along with his four remaining kage bushins. "If you say so, Lee," he said. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Naruto sent a full powered fire element attack straight at Lee from five directions, but Naruto saw Lee disappear a mere second before his flames came into contact.

The next thing Naruto knew, he received a rough kick in the side, knocking him off of his feet. Naruto let out a quick curse before straightening himself again. He only just had enough time to dodge Lee's next punch that was aimed straight for his chest. Not wasting any time, Naruto pulled out three shuriken and threw them at Lee along with his other four kage bushins. The green clad genin was able to dodge all of them easily though. Before Naruto could react again, Lee charged forward and delivered another powerful kick into Naruto's chest and sending him spiraling backwards.

When Naruto finally skid to a halt, he felt a foot firmly holding him down on the ground. Naruto opened his eyes and looked up at Lee above him, who was twirling a kunai around his finger with a smile on his face. Naruto sighed in defeat and let all four of his kage bushins disappear after being so exhausted from the combination of the fight and that day's training.

"You did well for a rookie," Lee said offering a hand up, which Naruto gladly accepted.

"That, or maybe your one hell of a fighter," Naruto said rubbing his head in pain. "I can't believe that you beat me with only taijutsu…" Naruto saw Lee smile sadly back, but decided to not think much about it. "But man Lee, I guess those training exercises really do work after all. I bet you beat Neji all the time, don't you?"

This time Lee's smile dropped altogether. "To speak truthfully, Naruto-kun," he said, "I haven't exactly beaten Neji yet…" Naruto stood there quietly for a moment, not fully believing what he had just heard. Neji could actually beat Lee? Just how strong was the Hyuuga heir? "But I will someday!" Lee suddenly yelled, making Naruto jump in surprise. "Someday, I'm going to beat Neji, and show the world that someone can be a great ninja just by working hard, and not by being born talented like Neji was."

Naruto suddenly felt his respect for Lee rise. "Well I have a dream too," Naruto said raising a fist in determination. "I'm going to be Hokage someday. Then I'll be able to earn the respect of the village."

"That is a noble dream," Lee said back. "You know, Naruto-kun, I believe you and I are very much alike!"

Naruto felt a shiver run up his spine, imagining what he would look like with a shiny bowl cut and his orange jumpsuit get replaced by a skintight green one. "Well, maybe a little bit," Naruto admitted slightly. "But let's get home, I'm exhausted!"

"Good idea!" Lee shouted. "Early to bed, early to rise, that's my way. How about we both run back to the village together?"

"You go on ahead," Naruto said, not believing that Lee could still have so much energy after that day. "I'll see you around sometime."

"Let us hope that it will be sometime soon," Lee said, giving a nice guy pose at Naruto and sprinting off down the forest path. Naruto couldn't help but laugh at Lee as he trudged back to the Hyuuga household. He was an okay guy. Even though he was a little wierd.

* * *

Naruto walked down the dark street toward the Hyuuga Compound in silence. A few villagers also walked down the same path and he noticed that some of them were sending him glares as he passed by them. On a normal occasion he would probably stick his tongue at them or, if it was someone he really didn't like, flick them off. But he didn't feel like it that night. He ached enough from that day's training anyways, why pay attention to any of the idiots that passed by.

Naruto placed a hand on his head after remembering the pain that Lee had put him through. Though he really didn't want to admit it about the weird Genin, he was tough. Really tough. He defeated Naruto like he was some weakling. Naruto could not help but respect him, despite his dorkiness. The kid had a dream and was willing to do anything to achieve it. Not to mention that his goal was to defeat Neji, that was a plus.

"Maybe I'll get in trouble again just to go train with Lee again," Naruto said to himself as he finally got to the Hyuuga mansion and began to walk up the steps. "I guess that I wouldn't mind learning a thing or to from him."

Naruto reached the final step and was about to walk through the doors when his ears suddenly picked up a faint noise. He looked around curiously, but his face turned into a warm smile when he looked across the porch. Hinata was lying down in a chair, fast asleep while clutching a bag of instant ramen in her hands. Naruto walked over and got on one knee, watching her silently as she slept. The light from the moon definitely brought out her more beautiful features, not to mention she looked just too cute in her sleeping form.

"Well, no sense of leaving you out here," Naruto said. As gently as he could, he picked Hinata up in his arms and walked into the house and closing the door behind him with his foot.

_I wonder if I can get her all the way to her room without waking her up, _Naruto thought, trying to walk as smoothly as he could.

The girl in her arms suddenly began to stir and she sleepily opened her purple eyes and looked up at the boy. "Naruto-kun…?" she asked sleepily.

_Crap. _"Hey, Hinata-chan," Naruto said smiling while he continued to walk through the hallway. By the look of things, it seemed that all the members had already gone to sleep for the night. The only thing that lit the way was an occasional lamp that showed up every so often and the half moon that shone outside that night. Naruto didn't mind though. There had been numerous occasions when his power had "accidentally" gone off in his apartment because of a workman's mistake. It was only because of the Hokage's order that anybody even came back to fix it at all, but by then Naruto had gotten used to walking around in the darkness.

"…What time is it?" she asked, looking around in the dark.

"Not too sure," Naruto said shrugging.

"…It's so dark," Hinata muttered looking around. Naruto looked down at Hinata in surprise. "I mean, I could always tell if it was night and all, but I could still see everything by their outlines with my Byakugan, they just didn't have any color. I feel blind now without it…It's kind of creepy."

"Don't worry, Hinata-chan," Naruto said reassuringly. "There have been loads of great ninja without a single bloodline ability at all. It may be a little hard for a little while for you, but I think that Kakashi-sensei and Hizashi…sama will help you get through it. How was your training today, anyways?"

"Tiring," she said sighing. "But most of it was reading. I think that tired me out more than the training." Naruto couldn't help but laugh. Although Hinata didn't look or act like it, she actually didn't like to read or study probably as much as he did. He kind of thought that he might have had something to do with it. "What about your punishment?" she suddenly asked.

"He took me to train with one of his teammates. I'll tell you how it was when I stop hurting," Naruto said smiling brightly at Hinata. "So…in about five or so years." Hinata laughed quietly in Naruto's arms.

Naruto looked up and felt his heart drag a little. He had already made it to Hinata's room. He had been hoping to be able to talk to her a little more before he got there.

"Here we are," Naruto said, stopping in front of Hinata's room and putting her down. "Sorry that we couldn't talk a little more, but I think we both need the rest. We start training again with Kakashi-sensei tomorrow."

"…Okay," Hinata said, looking a little disappointed herself. "So, I'll see you in the morning?"

"Of course you will, you dork," Naruto laughed. "Anyways, training starts at eight…so Kakashi shouldn't get there till nine thirty. We'll have time to sleep in."

"You're right," Hinata said giggling. "Well, goodnight, Naruto-kun."

"Have a good sleep, Hinata-chan," Naruto replied, turning to walk away.

Hinata was about to go into her room when she saw Naruto stop and turn around. "Hinata-chan, I don't know if it will make you feel any better or anything…but I like your eyes like they are now," he said, rubbing the back of his head in a small embarrassment. Hinata suddenly felt her face get more red than she had ever felt in her entire life. "Just wanted to say that," Naruto ended as he finally began to walk down the hallway.

"N-Naruto-kun!" The blonde turned around and saw Hinata slowly walk toward him with her head down and slightly looking to the side.

"What's up?" Naruto asked.

Hinata turned visibly red and looked from the floor and back to Naruto. After a few more seconds, she looked up at him and said in rush, "See you in the morning." After that, she placed a light kiss on Naruto's cheek and ran full speed into her room, closing the door behind her and leaving a stunned and speechless Naruto alone in the hallway. Slowly, Naruto raised his hand and placed it on the cheek that Hinata had kissed him on. Still in a slight daze, Naruto shakily walked back to his room, still not taking his hand off of his cheek.

A couple rooms down, a man deactivated his Byakugan and sighed, once again looking at the single picture that was on his desk. "I wish that you could see Hinata like this, Hiashi," he said sadly. "You would be so happy…and even more proud."

* * *

_You made it through the filler chapter! See was, that so bad? On second thought, don't answer that question. _

_Well guys, I have some bad news. I seem to having a small writers block right now. I have the idea in my head for what I want next chapter, I just seem to be having some trouble putting it down in words. I'm also going to be out of town all next week and won't be around my computer during that time. Maybe that will do me good and help me organize my thoughts. So anyways, don't expect another update for another month. It will be there though, you can count on it._

_And this is the last chapter where you can give me your idea for what you want Naruto's next costume to look like. I've only gotten two so far so I have a lot of room for more suggestions. Like I said, just put the description in the review or send me a PM._

_Please review, I'm really hoping to get up to 200 reviews this chapter. Until the next update everyone._

_GAZ_


	14. Old Friends and New Enemies

_Yeah, yeah, I know. The update was a little bit longer than I had said it would have been…but hey! I'm back. Hopefully with a chapter you can all partially enjoy. But don't worry, it's the last one until we can finally start up the Chunin exams. All that we need now is to reintroduce some of our favorite (or not) characters again. Besides that, I can't think of anything else to say._

_Don't own Naruto_

* * *

"So, you ready for today?" A man in his early twenties sat down in his chair behind the booth. He wore a bandage that went across his upper nose and wrapped around his entire head, and his spiky brown hair shoot out in various directions. "They say that this is supposed to be the day when most of the teams for the Chunin exams arrive." The man beside him didn't answer, his eyes were closed and he was breathing deeply. "Are you even awake, Izumo?"

The man beside him finally opened his one eye that could be seen, as the other was hidden by his hair. "What's the point of staying awake? No one ever comes this early, not even for the Chunin exams. Wake me up when something actually happens, Kotetsu."

"Fine," Kotetsu muttered, slightly annoyed at his fellow Chunin. Izumo might be his best friend and teammate since they were Genin, but that didn't mean that he didn't get frustrating every now and again. But he had to admit, he was right. Most of the teams for the exams usually came late in the afternoon. And when he said most of the teams, he meant ALL of the teams. And he and Izumo would have to greet every one of them and give them information about when the exam would take place and everything. It was a job that every Chunin feared of getting, and that year he had been suckered into it with Izumo.

Kotetsu leaned back lazily in his chair, starting to wonder if he should follow Izumo's lead and go to sleep, but then sat up straight. Four people had just walked through the gates, which surprised him since he had not noticed them approach.

"G-good morning! And welcome to Konoha!" Kotetsu shouted quickly while kicking Izumo in the leg to wake him up. Izumo bolted to his feet and looked at the four newcomers. It didn't take another shinobi to tell that all four of them were ninjas. All four of them wore a Suna hitae-ate, and the younger children all had something on their backs, no doubt a weapon to use in battle.

The large man in front turned his head to the two Chunins and smiled a little, something that looked a little odd since he had such a stern face. At least it looked like it, only half of it could be seen, the other half was hidden behind a kind of veil. It was probably used in his village to shield sand from his eyes. Izumo took note to try that the next time he traveled to Suna. "It is a good morning," the man said. "I take it that you are the greeters for the Chunin exams?"

"Yes," Kotetsu said, stepping out from behind the booth and grabbing four pamphlets. "And I take it that you are here for the exams. Don't know if that's such a good thing though, we're supposed to have quite a turnout this year."

The taller Suna Genin boy with purple markings over his face took one of the pamphlets and stuck it inside of his side pocket with a snort. "It doesn't really matter how strong they are," he said. "This exam will be a synch. We'll become Chunin, no problem."

_Cocky little kid, _Kotesu thought, but kept on smiling as he passed the remaining pamphlets to the other three guests.

"You shouldn't get so confident, Kankuro," the sensei of the squad said, looking critically at the boy. "You'd bring shame to Kazekage-sama if he knew that his own son was acting like you are now."

"K-Kazekage!" Izumo yelled, nearly falling off his feet. "This…is the son of the Kazekage?"

"All three of them are children of Kazekage-sama," the man replied, looking at Izumo. "They are favorites in our country to make Chunin this year."

"And don't forget it," Kankuro said, still smirking over at the two Konoha Chunin. "No one stands a chance with us this year. Just you wait and see what happens..."

"This is boring me…" Everyone suddenly looked over at the smallest of the four new guests of Konoha. He had messy, red hair and his eyes had black outlines, almost like a raccoon's. On his back he had a giant gourd, which Kotesu and Izumo could only guess what was in it. "Let's get out of here…"

"Garra, you are being rude," the taller man said, though he seemed to be cautious with the words he was using. "We are guests in Konoha and should behave as such. Your father would-"

"What my father thinks is of no concern to me," the boy said, turning around and facing his companions. Kotetsu noticed the mark on his forehead, almost like a tattoo, but as red as blood. "You of all people should know that too well. You can all stay here and speak unneeded formalities for all care. I'm leaving."

"Heh, don't worry about it, Gaara," the young girl said, holding her arms up as if she thought that the young man was going to suddenly lash out at her. "We still have to find a place to stay until the exams start anyways."

The boy looked back at his two siblings and his sensei wordlessly and then began to walk away, which the other three began to follow wordlessly. Kotesu and Izumo decided not to bother saying that none of them had decided to say goodbye or even a simple thank you.

"Looks like things are going to get really interesting this year," Izumo said, smiling a little.

"Yeah," Kotesu said. "But don't you think that one kid was a little…off?"

Izumo nodded back, leaning forward on his booth to get a better look at the four shinobi walking away. "He did look like he was a little more violent for the average shinobi."

"I was talking about the kid with the gourd on his back," Kotesu said.

"So was I."

* * *

"You sure you are ready for this, Naruto?" Iruka asked the blonde boy that was sitting beside him at Ichiraku ramen.

"Of course!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly. "I can't wait for the exams! This will finally give me the chance to let everybody know that I'm not a little kid anymore. I'll get to show you too, Iruka-sensei. You'll be amazed at how much more powerful I've gotten."

Iruka laughed at the boy's enthusiasm. "Even though you're a Genin, you still act and talk the same way you always have since you left the academy."

"I'm not too sure if Naruto will ever change," Hinata laughed on the other side of Naruto. Naruto had finally invited her to his and Iruka's weekly ramen meet, she had wanted to ask if she could come along ever since she first became friends with Naruto, but never brought up the courage to ask him face to face.

"Come on, Hinata-chan," Naruto whined playfully. "Why do you always have to take the opposite side that I do? You hurt my feelings…"

"Well she's still right," Iruka said. "The only real thing that's changed about you is your wardrobe."

Naruto had to agree. The new outfit that Hinata had helped him find was pertty different from what he had grown used to. His shirt was kind like a robe, black with an orange seam along with an orange sash that went around his waist. His pants weren't as heavy as the ones he used to have, they were lighter than the others. They were grey and it puffed out a little near the bottom and lines went down it. He was able to also to convince Neji to let him keep the red spiral he had on his previous orange jacket and had put it on the back of his shirt. Hizashi was satisfied with the look when Naruto had met him after he got it, saying that it would help him blend into darkness a bit more, which Naruto hadn't thought about when he had first gotten the suit. **(The winner for Naruto's different attire is bigjseph. For anybody who wants to see what it looks like, there's a link on my profile that will take you to it. Thanks to everyone who gave me ideas!).**

"Yeah," Naruto said looking down at his new clothes. "Neji made me get rid of them because he said that they were too restricting Jyuuken and that they weren't 'Hyuuga colors'. Hinata helped me get these the next day."

"Well, I have to agree with what Neji suggested," Iruka said while once again beginning to eat his ramen. "He has the right idea. The clothes you used were way too bulky for most ninja to wear. The easier you can move around in your clothes, the better."

"Well…at least I don't run around with a coat on with my hood up like Kiba does! And Konohamaru always said that I looked cool," Naruto said, trying to defend his former fashion sense. "But I have to admit, these clothes do seem to be a lot lighter than my last ones. They help a lot with the jyuuken style that Hizashi-sama and Neji are teaching me. Not that it ever helps me that much…"

"What do you mean?" Iruka asked his former student.

Hinata's face became a little more red after the question. "Naruto's a little frustrated that I beat him in Jyuuken practice a couple days ago. It was only supposed to be one time to show Hizashi-sama how much we've improved, but Naruto-kun kept insisting that we fight again."

"Well, you've had more practice than me," Naruto grumbled. He wasn't really mad at Hinata or anything, he just felt embarrassed that he had fallen down three times because he lost his ballance during his spar with Hinata in front of both Hizashi and Neji. In his opinion, those were the two worst people to mess up in front of.

Iruka, on the other hand, looked past Naruto and at Hinata. He was actually very impressed with how much Hinata had improved since she left the academy, both as a ninja and self confidence. He still remembered a time when she was too afraid to even raise her hand up in the classroom to answer a question. Now she was having no trouble at all with stuttering and being herself. He had never seen Hinata like this before. But judging by the, though slightly fainter, but still visible blush she still had every time she looked at Naruto, at least a couple things must have stayed the same.

"So, I heard that you've been training hard as well, right Hinata-san?" Iruka asked, pushing his now empty bowl away slightly.

"Yeah," Hinata said to her former teacher. "Both Hizashi-sama and Kakashi-sensei have been teaching me two different ways, so it's sometimes hard to think straight sometimes. Not to mention how many books I've had to read. Ever since we got back from the Land of Waves a month ago, I think I've read about twenty books about the chakra coil system. I can only hit ten out of the sixty four points in the chakra system without missing. It's really difficult sometimes."

"Well you know more than I do, that's for sure," Iruka said while paying Ayame for the food.

"Thank you," she said cheerfully before she went back into the kitchen.

"Well, I have to head back now," the Chunin said looking over his shoulder at the two younger shinobi. "I've still got to grade yesterday's tests. If I put it off for another day, I'm going to start getting in trouble with the other teachers…"

"Alright," Naruto said, giving the older man thumbs up. "Just make sure you'll be there to see me kick butt in the exams."

"Don't worry, I will," Iruka said beginning to walk away. "Oh, and one more thing, you both seem to have a follower."

Hinata and Naruto were about to question what Iruka meant, but he had already disappeared. "He could have just told us who it was…" Naruto grumbled while he looked around.

"Maybe he wants us to figure it out for himself?" Hinata suggested. "To test our shinobi skills."

"How about this…" Naruto said jumping on the counter of Ichiraku Ramen and crying out, "Come out whoever you are. We'll find you eventually so you might as well just show yourself."

"Shut up, you idiot," a deep voice replied from behind the counter.

Naruto couldn't help but smile widely. Naruto got onto his knees and lowered his head to look underneath the other side of the counter. There sat Uchiha Sasuke, crouched down low as if he was trying to avoid being spotted. Nothing seemed to have changed about the boy at all. He still wore the same attire, wore his headband around his head the same way, and still had the same slightly annoyed scowl on his face.

"Long time no see Sas-" Naruto let out a slight yelp as Sasuke yanked him down to the ground and covered his best friends mouth.

"Will you shut up!?" Sasuke yelled/whispered, peeking over the edge of the counter.

"What are you hiding from, Sasuke-kun," Hinata asked. She too was happy to see one of her first friends after a long time, but she couldn't help but wonder what he seemed to be so afraid of. "Is someone after you?"

"Yeah, Ino," Sasuke replied. He stood up so he could be eye level with Hinata, though he still looked around cautiously for any sign of someone approaching. "I haven't gotten one moment of peace ever since we became on the same team. I swear, you'd think that a woman would need to go to the bathroom or something once in a while, but she just keeps showing up."

"Sasuke-kun!"

"Kind of like that?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke nearly fell face first into the ground as Ino pounced onto his back in an attempt to glomp him. "Where'd you go after training was over, Sasuke-kun?" she asked with a blush on her face, though it didn't stop her from holding Sasuke even tighter. "You always run off as soon as we're done, you and me never get to spend some quality time alone anymore."

"I see what you mean," Naruto said, stifling his laughter as Sasuke looked over at his friends pleadingly.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Ino asked not too nicely at Naruto. She gasped though after she looked over at Hinata, or more specifically, her eyes. "Hinata! What happened to your Byaku…thingie?!"

Hinata blinked a couple times and then suddenly remembered that she didn't have the Byakugan anymore. It was funny, she hadn't thought about it that much for quite some time. She guessed that she was getting used to it. "Um…it got sealed inside of me on accident," Hinata answered with a nervous smile. "Hizashi-sama is trying to find a way to unseal it now so I think that everything will turn out okay."

"Don't tell me that this idiot that's by you had anything to do with it," Ino said looking over at Naruto.

"Nice to see you again too," the blonde boy replied rolling his eyes. Even after putting up with Ino's annoying attitude in the academy for five years, Naruto could still barely stand the blonde kunoichi. Admittedly, he had been hoping that she would fail the exam at the academy and not become a Genin so that he wouldn't have to put up with her any longer. He didn't end up so lucky though.

"Sasuke-kun," Ino said in her usual flirty manner, "why don't we ditch these two and go get some real food somewhere?"

Sasuke sighed in defeat, realizing that he was trapped judging by the force that Ino was holding him. "Alright, Ino," Sasuke said shaking his teammate off. "You can hang around with me, but only if Hinata and Naruto are around also."

"But Sasuke-kun…" Ino whined in the cutest way she could muster.

"Take it or leave it," Sasuke interrupted, not in any way affected by the way his teammate was acting. He turned his back to her and looked back to Naruto and Hinata. "So where you two heading off to anyways? I hope you two don't mind that I tag around for a little bit."

"That's alright," Hinata said. "We were going to go see Shikamaru anyways. He's in a shogi tournament today and we thought we might go and cheer him on."

Sasuke began to walk down the road alongside his friends. "Oh yeah, I forgot that you got stuck with that guy on your team. If he's still anything like he was in the academy, he should be doing more training and playing less board games. I still can't believe he was good enough to become a Genin. His grades were almost as bad as Naruto's."

"First off, I take that offensively," Naruto said. "Second, Shikamaru's grades were way worse than mine. Third, he's actually a pretty good teammate. Once he's on a role, there's nothing stopping him. Just hope that you don't get on the wrong side of his shadow. You don't know him like we do."

"Well I do," Ino snorted, who was still following Sasuke closely. "His dad and mine have known each other since they were kids, so I've known him for a long time. The Shikamaru I know is a lazy good-for-nothing bum. I don't know who you're talking about, but it sure doesn't sound anything like the Shikamaru that I know."

"Well you'll just have to see when our team goes to the Chunin exams," Naruto said sticking out his tongue at the girl. "Hope you have fun watching us."

Sasuke suddenly stopped in the road and looked over at Hinata and Naruto in surprise. Ino had a similar look on her face. Naruto and Hinata looked back and both began to feel a little awkward.

"Is something wrong?" Hinata asked.

"You're actually going to the Chunin exams?" Ino scoffed, making Naruto's anger begin to boil up inside of him. "Well good luck with that. It's obvious that you won't stand a chance against our team."

"Huh?" Naruto asked dumbly.

"Asuma signed us up for the exams too, dobe," Sasuke said, laughing at his friend's surprise. "So is the other rookie team. You know, the team that Kiba, Sakura, and Choji are on?"

"All nine of us?" Naruto asked dropping his jaw. "Aw man…I thought that we were going to be the only rookie Genin team there," he whined before beginning their tread down the road again. "Now we won't be anything special at all…"

"Nope," Sasuke said crossing his arms behind his head. "And from what Asuma's been saying, this year is supposed to be one of the toughest in a long time."

Naruto grinned widely as he punched the air in excitement. "Well of course it is. I'm in it, aren't I? You better watch out, Sasuke. I'm catching up to you."

"In your dreams, dobe," Sasuke said turning his head away. Though he was trying to not to show it, he was having a pretty good time. He had missed the times when he would always hang out with Naruto and Hinata. He, Ino, and Shino may have been the best from the academy and they knew how to work together fairly well, but none of them really got along real well. Ino didn't like Shino because of his somewhat cold and uncaring attitude toward them and right away denying Sasuke to be the automatic leader when she declared it. Sasuke didn't have anything against Shino or anything. It was only that the two didn't share much in common with each other than being on the same team. They weren't enemies by any means, but they weren't the best of friends either. And well…Ino was just Ino.

The Uchiha prodigy looked over at the three traveling with him. Naruto had managed to distract Ino with an argument about who was better the better shinobi, him or her not-so-secret crush, and Hinata was trying to once again restore the peace as she did back in the academy. After he was fully satisfied that they were totally distracted, Sasuke quickly looked over his shoulder and to the rooftops. Just as he suspected, the group of dark forms that had been hopping from the tops of one shop to another stopped, hiding themselves in the shadows.

_So they're still following me, _Sasuke thought narrowing his eyes. _These guys don't give up easily._ Sasuke turned back around and thought over the situation. Judging by what he's found out so far, there are probably only three of them, and probably either mid Genin or mediocre Chunin rank. Anybody with real proper training in stealth would have been able to avoid his detection easily, though they were still good enough to keep up with him when he tried to lose them a couple times without giving away totally that he had detected their presence.

Another thing that made Sasuke confused was that the three only seemed to be following, not waiting for an ambush. He's already put himself in plenty of seemingly vulnerable situations for an attack, but each time nothing happened. That either meant that the three were just trying to annoy the crap out of him, or they were gathering information.

"Sasuke-kun?" The Uchiha looked over at Hinata who looked back in a slight worry. Naruto and Ino also looked over at Sasuke curiously. Damn, turns out that he wasn't as subtle as he had originally thought. "Are you okay?" Hinata asked again.

"Uh, yeah," he said back as if there wasn't anything wrong. "I just dozed off for a bit. Naruto's 'logic' put me half asleep. Everybody in the Konoha already knows that no one can beat me."

"Keep telling yourself that, Sasuke," Naruto said back competitively. "Someday I'm going to beat you and you'll be _begging _me to teach you my moves." Naruto began rambling again, but Hinata seemed to still have a bit of worry left in her eyes.

During her stare, Sasuke took another moment to study her recently turned purple eyes. To say the least, he had been surprised when he first saw Hinata without her Byakugan a couple of weeks ago, half thinking that he had fallen into some kind of genjutsu. But now, he was semi used to seeing Hinata with her new eye color. It was actually a little more comfortable looking into them than it was with the two white and seemingly empty eyes.

"Hey, I think that's the place that Shikamaru said was where the tournament was," Naruto said pointing down the street. Of course, what threw him off was how many people were gathered around the shop, most of them being elder men in their forties or fifties.

Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, and Ino approached the building curiously. Sasuke and Naruto nodded to each other and began to push through the crowd roughly, making their way through the gang of people that blocked their way with Hinata and Ino following closely. The glances varied to either the dismissive or admirable glances toward Sasuke, to the disgusted and hateful glares toward Naruto, each boy ignoring both kinds of looks quite effectively.

Finally, the four were able to find their way to the front of the crowd. Shikamaru sat with his eyes closed and his hands in a square. The closest spectators of the game were beginning to mumble back and forward in annoyance that the boy was taking so long to make his turn. Naruto and Hinata, on the other hand, looked at each other in surprise. This had to be one tough match of shogi if Shikamaru had gone so far as using his trademark concentration habit. Next to him sat his best friend, Choji, who seemed to be more interested in the plate of hot wings that he had than the shogi match.

Naruto looked over at Hinata and gave her a wink. Before she could even try to stop him, Naruto pounced to try and scare his teammate. Unfortunately for him though, Shikamaru put his arm back and Naruto went, quite literally, face first into it and fell to the ground.

"Even when you're trying to be quite, Naruto, you're too loud," Shikamaru said opening his eyes to look at his teammate. His eyes traveled past Naruto though and looked at the other Genin that had accompanied him. "And look who we have here, the great Uchiha Sasuke has graced us with his presence. And Ino too," he said looking at the two.

"You guys are late," Choji said while chewing his food, which Ino observed in disgust. "Shikamaru's already in the final round. If you came any later, you would have been too late to see anything."

"We're here, aren't we?" Naruto said to Choji shrugging. "So everything worked out okay."

The Akatmichi looked over at his best friend to make sure that he wasn't listening before leaning in forward to whisper to Naruto and Hinata. "Shikamaru's having a bit of trouble here. Every move he makes is countered by one just as good. I haven't seen him work this hard in a game since the last time I saw him face his father."

"Are you going to make me wait until tomorrow morning or are you going to make your move already?"

The six Konoha Genin looked over at Shikamaru's opponent who sat across the table from him. It was a girl who looked a couple years older than they were, her sandy blond hair pulled into four ponytails, a style that wasn't too popular in Konoha. She wore a plain very light purple shirt with a matching skirt, and underneath her shirt was fishnet. On her back was what looked like a giant paddle, though the Genin couldn't help but think that was it unlikely. Lastly was the hitae-ate that she had around her neck with the symbol of Sunagakure on it.

"Relax, I'll make my move when I'm ready," Shikamaru responded back, deciding to take charge. "Man, of all the people to get stuck with in the final game, I get stuck with this troublesome woman…"

"Watch it, or you'll wake up one week from now in the hospital," the girl shot back, glaring daggers at Shikamaru in the process. "Just make your move already."

"Let's just leave, Temari," a boy behind him said while looking around as if he was expecting to be attacked from some direction. He wore a full body suit of black, revealing only his face that was covered with face paint. "He should be showing up in a little while now. And if he doesn't…well who knows what's happened."

"Don't worry. This match is as good as done, this kid's had it," Temari said looking back at the boy behind while leaning back slightly in her chair. "At least it will be when he finally makes his move."

Everyone looked back at Shikamaru, who sighed lazily before putting his hands into a square once again. "Let me finish this time, Naruto," Shikamaru said before closing his eyes.

Naruto shrugged and put his arms behind his head, waiting for his teammate to finish. He saw that Temari only became even more annoyed after Shikamaru started his concentration again. "Don't worry," he said to the girl and catching her attention, "whoever's coming to get you isn't going to have to wait that long. You're as good as done now. When it comes to strategy, no one can beat Shikamaru."

Before the kunoichi could even respond, her eyes were brought back to the board after hearing a click. Shikamaru still had his hand on the piece he had just moved with a mocking grin on his face. Temari grinned back in the same way, grateful that she could finally end the game. She looked down at the board with a tactical eye and placed her hand on the piece that she had been planning on using for the last five turns. She began to pick it up, but froze suddenly.

"No way…" she muttered, examining the board. She'd been duped! If she moved her piece, she would leave herself totally open for Shikamaru's next move which would inevitably lead to her loss. She leaned back in her chair again, unfamiliar with the feeling of actually losing. She'd never lost a game of strategy before, both in missions and games, and she had just fallen into the biggest trap she's ever been.

_Looks like Konoha doesn't have as many fools after all, _she thought, immediately changing her original strategy and moving a different piece forward.

"Told you," Naruto said laughing after he saw Temari take her hand off of her first piece and instead moved another.

_But it does seem that Konoha has one of the biggest fools of all time right here, _she thought again, looking at the blonde boy behind her opponent in annoyance.

Behind her, Kankuro's face scowled at the short boy that had decided to mouth off to his sister so much. "I don't like your tone," he growled in warning. "If I was you, I'd show a little more respect to your superiors, get it kid? You have a lot of nerve to insult some of the great shinobi of Suna."

Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other with a slight smile. "Just like old times, right Sasuke?" Naruto asked. This wasn't the first time that someone has something around the same lines before. Actually, it was kind of usual for them. There was always a cocky mediocre student back at the academy that would either try and pick on Naruto or challenge Sasuke for the title of 'Best in the Academy'. For the majority of the time, a teacher would show up and break them up before anything could start, but that didn't mean he was let off the hook that easily. Usually during the same day, the same kid would unexpectedly open up a door and end up with a pale of ice cold water dropping on his head. Everyone always knew that Sasuke and Naruto were always the culprits, but there was never enough proof, so the two would always get off the hook.

"Yep," Sasuke agreed. "Say, tell me, Naruto…How many 'great' ninja have you heard of that has come out of Suna lately?"

"Well…" Naruto said back, playing along and acting as if the Suna nin weren't even there. "Gee, Sasuke-kun. I don't think I've ever heard of any. Sorry I couldn't help."

Sasuke shrugged. "That's okay. I was just wondering if I was the only one who hasn't heard of any."

Both Genin looked over at the older boy across the table, who's now purple face seemed to blend in quite nicely with his face paint.

"Uh oh, Sasuke," Naruto continued to mock, "I think we angered him. What do you think we should do?"

"Hmm…" Sasuke said, acting as though he was thinking very hard on the subject. "Well, if I remember correctly, most Suna nins are easily distracted by bright and shiny objects. Quick, Naruto! Get a spoon!"

"That's it!" the boy yelled, taking off the wrapped up item that was on his back and slammed it onto the ground, making the pieces on the board shake from the force it had to endure.

"Kankuro…" Temari said warningly from her seat.

"Stay out of this, Temari," Kankuro yelled back, still glaring at Naruto and Sasuke. "These two punks have upset me one too many times in this lifetime, and I think theirs will have to end now. Anyways, can you really say that you don't feel angry at all for what these punks have said? These guys are going down."

The boy named Kankuro suddenly drew a kunai from his kunai holster on his leg and pulled back his arm. Several people around the area let out a scream and began to scatter to try and get away from the coming fight while Naruto and Sasuke simultaneously drew out a kunai to defend themselves with. Kankuro was about to throw the kunai when he froze suddenly, his eyes going wide.

A moment past and Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other in confusion, and then looked back at Kankuro. The hand that grasped the kunai was wrapped in sand, seemingly holding him back. Or at least it would have held him back if he hadn't frozen in his tracks. His face, which had been beat red only a second ago, was now white as a sheet. Naruto could have sworn that he even saw him shaking a little also.

"What are you doing…?" a voice asked. A boy around Naruto and Sasuke's age suddenly came into the shop. He had short red hair and black surrounded his beady eyes. On his back he carried a large gourd with traces of sand coming out of it, adding to the ball of sand that was wrapped around Kankuro's hand.

"N-nothing, Gaara," Kankuro said nervously with a smile. "It's just that these two kids were insulting our village and…"

"You let these two's insignificant insults actually anger you?" he asked in a voice that was only just above a whisper. "You're only proving their point by acting so foolishly." The boy named Garra looked from Kankuro to Temari and then to Sasuke and Naruto. "I apologize for my brother's idiocy. If you will excuse us…"

Temari stood to her feet and began to walk away with Kankuro and the boy that was named Gaara, seemingly forgetting all about the shogi game that she had been playing with Shikamaru only moments before.

"Hey, you," Sasuke shouted after the boy. "The guy with the gourd…just who are you?"

"Yeah, I want to know too," Naruto added. Gaara turned around and looked at the two, as if debating whether to pay attention to the two at all. If Naruto and Sasuke would have known more about Gaara's past and personality, they might have known that he was actually debating to kill the two and be done with them or not. Then again, it wasn't everyday that someone talks to him so freely…

"My name is Gaara of the Desert. I believe that usually people reply by giving their own name after asking such a question…?" he asked, giving in to his own curiosity.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke," (surprisingly) Sasuke said.

"And I'm Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto added. "Are you three here to take the exams?"

"Yeah, we are," Temari said, deciding to answer the question. "But I think it would be better if you all mind your own business. Now if you'll excuse us, we have better things to do than to sit here and listen to a couple of second rate Genin from Konoha."

"Don't talk to Sasuke-kun like that!" Ino yelled suddenly, but stepped back a little after Temari shot her a punishing glare. "Besides," she said, though a little bit nicer this time, "we're all in the Chunin exams too."

Kankuro snickered at the six Genin back at the table still. "Well then, you better hope that you don't run into us during it. You've all been marked as enemies to the Suna Genin, so I'd suggest you watch all of your backs…"

"Oh, scary," Naruto said sarcastically.

"Trust me kid, you don't know what scary is," Kankuro said darkly. He turned to look at Gaara, who was still staring at Naruto and Sasuke. Finally, without saying a single word, he and his siblings walked away.

As they set off down the street, Naruto and Sasuke sent each other a victory smile to each other. "I knew they wouldn't want to mess with us. They're the ones that don't know what they're getting into, talking as if they are so tough."

"Are you sure that was a good idea?" Hinata asked. "Those three did look pretty tough. And that one with the red hair also seemed pretty scary also."

"Don't worry, Hinata-chan," Naruto said reassuringly. "After all the training that we've been going through with Kakashi-sensei, there's no way that we can lose to anyone in this exam."

"You keep telling yourself that, Naruto," Shikamaru said, standing to his feet. He looked over at the game board and lazily picked up one of his pieces and moved it up one. It was too bad that Gaara had shown up so early and took Temari away. In only three more moves, he would have won the match.

* * *

On a nearby rooftop, a team of three Genin watched the six Konoha Genin talk amongst them after watching the whole scene that had happened with the Suna nin.

"If you ask me, none of those punks down there look too tough," one of the boys said with dark gray hair. "And why is Orochimaru so concerned about that Sasuke kid. I bet I could take him with one arm behind my back."

Beside the boy was another one, wearing a coat with sleeves that went well past the ends of his arms. He walked forward with a hunch and his entire head was covered in bandages, with only the small exception of his right eye. "It doesn't matter," he said watching the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan continue his conversation with the short blonde Genin and the purple eyed girl. "Orochimaru-sama wishes it so we must obey. I thought you would know that already, Zaku."

"I know," Zaku replied sitting down on the roof of the building they were on. "It just doesn't make much sense if you ask me."

The bandaged boy looked over at Zaku, seemingly thinking about what his teammate had just said. He was interrupted though when Kin, the female member of their squad, spoke up.

"Dosu's right, Zaku," Kin said tossing a kunai in her hand up and down in a bored fashion. "Besides, if he's really as weak as you think he is, he'll be only that much easier to kill, now won't he?"

"Good point," Zaku laughed, standing up. "How about we head back. Tomorrow is after all the last day Uchiha's going to live. Besides, I'm tired of watching him walk around town all day long."

"…Agreed," Dosu replied looking back at his teammates. "We'll kill him during the exams, just as Orochimaru-sama commanded." The three Genin then began to hop from roof to roof back to the hotel they were staying at, all of them ready to get a good nights rest before they set back out on their hunt that was coming the next day.

* * *

_And that's it…for now. Yeah, I know that Sasuke was a tad bit OC in this chapter, but I think that if he might have met Naruto earlier, he may have been less…assholeish? Oh, and if any of you don't know who Kotetsu and Izumo are from the beginning of the chapter, you may remember them better as the two Chunin that were disguised as Chunin who were telling off the Genin at the beginning of the first exam._

_On a side not, all I can really say about this chapter is: eh. Remember, this was done during a small writer's block, so it may have not been the best. Either way, I still hope it was half way good. But the good news is that we're finally into the Chunin Exams, but how will they unfold this time? We can all finally find out...NEXT CHAPTER!_

_GAZ_


	15. The Chunin Exams Finally Begin!

_It seems that I am still getting complaints about some of the things that I put into my story. Well guys, I just have this to say…please stop. If you do not like reading stuff about bad stuff happening to good people, then you should not read my fic. I'm not going to say anything more than that, but I am just giving you all fair warning now._

* * *

Naruto checked himself over in front of the full body mirror for what seemed like the fiftieth time in a row. He already knew that he looked fine. Hell, he was pretty sure that some of the other Hyuuga members would have actually looked at him if he walked down the hallway. Admittedly, it was out of nervousness that he hadn't left already. After a month of rigorous training from Kakashi, Neji, and Lee, it was finally time for the Chunin exams.

After straightening the hitae-ate that he had received from Iruka one last time, he turned away from it and walked out the door. He scanned the empty hallway and saw that no one seemed to be up. He couldn't blame them. He suspected it to be not even six in the morning. Not many sane people would actually be up at that early of a time. Then again, Naruto knew that probably not one of the Hyuuga's would even see him off anyways.

The whiskered Genin continued to walk down the hallway with his eyes to the ground sadly at the thought. He couldn't help but admit that when Hizashi told him to enter the room where he would receive his seal, for a brief moment, his heart raced in excitement of actually having a family. In that moment, he could hardly keep in his excitement at the thought of him coming home to a laughing family who looked forward to his return everyday.

That thought began to diminish as soon as the seal was put on him, and it completely died after the seal was activated for the first time. Not one of the Hyuugas there intervened. When it was over, he could only lay there in pain for a couple minutes, unaware of anything. It was only until Hinata came into the room that he was able to leave with his head still aching. Sure, he knew that he wouldn't need to endure that much pain ever again with the help of the demon inside of him, but that one instant when it was activated by both Neji and Hizahi made him know that he would not find any family in this house.

He paused in mid step in front of one door, Neji's door. Anger and worry both filled Naruto up at the same time. To Naruto, the Hyuuga prodigy was the biggest reason that he loathed the clan as much as he did. Neji was both one of the people that Naruto most wished to face and one that he just wanted to stay out of the way of. If he had been the Naruto that he had been two months ago, he would be shouting to everybody that Neji didn't stand a chance and that he wasn't going to lose to anyone. He knew better now. He knew that the chances of him beating Neji in a one on one fight was slim, but that didn't make him want to beat him down any less.

Naruto gripped his hand into a fist, remembering all he had to put up with because of Neji. The berating, getting his ass kicked by him in jyuuken practice, not to mention activating his mark probably ten times since he had been "accepted" into the family. Once again, Naruto grudgingly admitted that without the Kyuubi's help, his brain would have been turned to complete mush by now.

Turning his eyes away from the door, Naruto once again made his way down the massive hallway which he had now called home, and he used that term quite loosely. For the most part, he was treated no more differently in the clan than what he had been when he was outside with the villagers. If they weren't glaring at him angrily, they usually just stared right past him and did not give him a second glance. Perhaps the one that was giving him the most hateful of any of their glares were Hinata's little sister, Hanabi. He did not know exactly what he had done to her friend's younger sister, but everytime they came within eye contact with each other, she would send him a stare that rivaled many of the most hateful citizens of the village.

Adjusting to the Hyuuga style of life was another thing Naruto was having trouble adapting to. He constantly had to bow to other members of the family. Much to his aggrivation, it was a requried action whenever either Hizashi or Neji passed by, and both would usually stop him and instruct him to do so before he left. Though Naruto never stayed behind to see exactly what Hizashi's reaction ever was, Neji seemed to make an effort so that Naruto could see his smug face as he bowed to him. This was only one of the reasons that Naruto was looking forward to going to the Chunin Exams. No matter how aweful it may be, at least it gave him a reason to leave the house hold.

Naruto turned his eyes away from the ground and continued to walk down the hall. He suddenly stopped at the corner. Hinata stood there waiting for him, though her eyes were cast down to the floor like his were just a moment ago. Naruto suddenly felt like an idiot. Hinata was probably feeling even more nervous than he was for the exam. All he had been thinking about was himself, not giving her, or Shikamaru for that matter, a second thought. Hinata was perhaps the only thing that made living with the Hyuugas somewhat bareable. Whenever he lost a sparing match with Neji, Hinata would be there soon to tend his wounds, staying nearby long after the last ones had healed. Everytime he looked over at her, he saw her own purple ones gazing up at his hitae-ate, under which his seal was hidden. Each time, Naruto would only give her a reasurring smile and witty comment, which she would smile back in response. It was because of that smile that Naruto kept going. For Hinata...

When she looked up, Naruto put on his usual playful smile. "Morning, Hinata-chan," he said brightly, trying not to give away that he wasn't feeling as nervous as she was.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun," Hinata said with a nervous smile. Her eyelids seemed to be lower over her purple eyes that morning, giving Naruto the impression that she had not gotten much sleep that previous night. Naruto couldn't blame her. He too had trouble dozing off that night.

"Ready to go today?" Naruto asked, beginning to walk down the hallway again.

Hinata nodded as she continued to look down at the floor and remain quiet. Hinata nearly jumped when she suddenly felt Naruto's hand fall on her shoulder. She looked over at him, and he once again gave a warm smile at Hinata. "We'll be fine," Naruto reassured her.

Hinata nodded silently, but still didn't respond as they continued to walk.

"Oh, come on, Hinata-chan," Naruto said, jumping in front and walking backwards so that he could talk to her face to face. "You know how hard we've been working for these exams. Our team rocks! Not to mention that you've been working really hard on your new jutsus with Kakashi-sensei and Hizashi-sama."

The purple eyed Hyuuga knew that Naruto was right. Both them and Shikamaru had been working constantly to advance their skills with Kakashi-sensei in preparation for the exam. Ever since the Land of Waves mission ended, Kakashi had been putting more time into training them and less time doing missions, not that any of them were complaining with not cleaning up poop at the local dog pound. Even more shocking was that Shikamaru was putting a little more effort into practicing, which was very out of character for him.

"Besides," Naruto said flexing a muscle. "With the combinations we've thought up together with Shikamaru, there's no way any of us can lose to anybody. And if those don't work, I can just test out the new jutsu that Kakashi-sensei has been teaching me on them.

Hinata nodded, feeling a little more relieved as they finally turned the corner to the door to leave the mansion.

"So you two are leaving for the Chunin exams?"

Naruto and Hinata started in surprise and looked ahead of them, where Hizashi was standing, or perhaps waiting for them, beside the door.

"Yes, Hizashi-sama," Naruto said. The sentence seemed to have been just as much engraved into his head as the caged bird seal was. He seemed to lose all emotion every time he said it, throwing them into the wind for just a second so that he wouldn't have to hate himself for going against everything he had ever said.

Hizashi stood still and watched as the two approached him before speaking again. "I'm going to give you two one last warning. The exams are going to be difficult and dangerous. At some moments, life threatening. There won't always be a Jonin close by to save you when things begin to look ugly. In other words, you two and your teammate will be on your own this time." Hizashi closed his eyes as he stepped aside away from the door. "You two have done well since you have returned from Wave Country. No matter what challenges you meet today, tomorrow, or anytime during the exam, I'm sure that you will be able to handle them."

Naruto and Hinata stared up at Hizashi in mild shock. Both of them looked over at each other, realizing that they had never really been praised by the Hyuuga head before. This was, to say the least, a definite new experience for them.

"Thank you, Hizashi-sama," Hinata said with an earnest bow, which Naruto copied after examining Hizashi for another moment more.

"It is merely the truth," Hizashi said nodding. "Good luck today, and be careful," he said opening the door. The two Genin gave Hizashi one last bow before they began to walk out the door.

"Naruto."

The blonde ninja turned around in surprise one last time at Hizashi. The Jonin looked over at Hinata who waited a couple steps behind, then knelt down to Naruto's level. "Protect her," he whispered, so only Naruto could hear him. "I know that you can and I know that you will do fine."

All Naruto could do was stare at Hizashi with a slightly agape mouth. Finally, the blonde, for the first time, smiled at Hizashi and turned around to join Hinata before walking off.

The leader of the Hyuuga clan watched the two walk away before he stood up straight again. "You may come out if you wish now, Hanabi," he said, not even activating his Byakugan.

The young girl walked out from behind the corner and stood next to Hizashi, watching her sister and the newest member of the Hyuuga family walk away, all the while scowling at both of them.

"Do you not wish for your sister and Naruto-san to do well during the exams?" he asked.

"I care little for what happens to either of them," Hanabi answered, turning away from the door and walking back through the hallway. "If you need me, Hizashi-sama, I will be in my-"

"…Does it anger you that they accept each other, no matter how different they are from everybody else?" Hizashi asked. Hanabi halted suddenly and stood motionless, not turning around. "If you want to be accepted, Hanabi," Hizashi continued, "make an effort to accept them as well. It is as easy as that."

Once again, the young Hyuuga branch member stayed silent. After another moment though, she continued to walk away down the hallway. Hizashi sighed before turning to his left and walking down a different hallway, hoping that Hanabi would take his advice.

* * *

Shikamaru lay silently on the grassy ground, staring up at the thin wisps of white that hung high above his head that sunny morning. He sighed in mild frustration. He never had liked those kinds of clouds. They were too boring for his tastes. He could never find any sort of shapes in them.

He sat up and leaned one arm on his bent knee and closed his eyes, going deep in thought. He had decided to come out early that morning to look at the clouds in hope that it would ease his mind a little bit. Unfortunately, it didn't. Though he didn't allow it to show, he was also feeling nervous about the upcoming exams. He had absolutely no idea what he was in for, no thanks to his good for nothing dad. When he had asked, Shikaku had just laughed at him and said that he would have to find out all by himself, just like he did. He was half tempted to ask his mom, but in the end was afraid of her yelling at him for trying to find a shortcut or something along those lines. He sighed in exasperation, wondering why he had to have the most troublesome woman in the world be his mother.

His thoughts suddenly went to his teammates. He was pretty sure that Naruto would be able to hold his own in the exams. He laughed, thinking that the idiotic fool would be probably too stubborn to back down from the exam. The one he did worry about was Hinata though. Ever since the Land of Waves, she has gotten a little more confident, but she still had her doubts about herself. If she wasn't sure, she would hesitate, and that hesitation might prove fatal for her someday.

"Hey, lazy ass," a voice said over him.

Shikamaru looked up in mild surprise, seeing both Hinata and Naruto staring down at him, with Naruto wearing a wide grin after seeing how astonished Shikamaru was after seeing them. Though it made him groan, he couldn't help but laugh at himself. Here he was worried about Hinata, and then the loudest ninja to ever grace Konoha comes along and sneaks up on him. Some ninja he was.

"You guys are late," Shikamaru said standing up and dusting himself off lazily. "…How long have you guys been standing in front of me?"

Naruto laughed and looked over at Hinata. "I'd say it was a good two minutes at least, right Hinata-chan?" The blue haired Hyuuga beside him giggled softly, happy that the mood was still good even while each of them were equally worried about the exam.

"So, Shikamaru," Naruto said as he positioned himself between him and Hinata as they walked to the academy. "Did you ever get any information about the exams from your dad like you said you would?"

"Nope," Shikamaru said sighing. "The last piece of advice he gave me before I left was 'Stay alive', not that it made me feel any better at all."

Naruto and Hinata fell silent once again after hearing the last part of what Shikamaru had to say. Both of them, at the same time, thinking that they should just end the conversation before they heard anything else that they didn't want to hear.

* * *

Shikamaru and Hinata hurriedly walked up the stairs of the academy behind Naruto. It had seemed that the two Genin that were downstairs who had been urging all of them to just give up on the exam had only driven him to want to get to the exams even faster. Hinata smiled, watching the determined blonde that walked ahead of her. It seemed almost as if the more that people ever said that he couldn't do something, the more determined Naruto that would become. She wondered if that was the reason why he wanted to become Hokage that badly, after everyone had always told him that he would never amount to anything as a ninja. In a very uncharacteristic like manner, Hinata gripped her hand into a fist, vowing that she would continue onward through the exam no matter what, for Naruto's sake.

Team Seven suddenly stopped, surprised that at the top of the stairs, someone had been waiting for them.

"Hey," Kakashi said when he saw them reach the top of the stairs, his visible eye closed to show that he was smiling. Naruto and his teammates looked at Kakashi in surprise. After a moment of silence, Kakashi reopened his eye and looked down at his squad and the suspicious looks they had on their faces. "…What?" he asked.

"…You can't be Kakashi," Shikamaru said flatly.

Kakashi sighed, feeling as if he had been betrayed. "And why is that?" he asked.

"You're early," all three members of Genin said simultaneously, causing a sweat drop to form on the back of his head.

"Ha ha, very funny," the Copy Nin said sarcastically with a sigh. "All I wanted to do was be a good sensei and wish my team good luck, and here I get made fun of. Where did I go wrong…?"

"You're such a cry baby, Sensei," Naruto said laughing.

"Yeah, yeah," Kakashi said, but then stood up straight and looked at him team seriously. "But back to business right now. I know that you are all pretty nervous about this, aren't you?" The Genin team looked away from their sensei after he said this, confirming Kakashi's predictions. "Well first, I want to tell you all something. Did you know that you three are the first Genin team to ever pass my test?" Once again, Team Seven stiffened in surprise. "I didn't think so," Kakashi said with a smile. "The reason that the three of you were able to pass the bell test was because you were able to work together as one. As a team. For that reason, I know that you will all do fine during the test. You've already fought enemies that many shinobi have not faced until well into their years as Chunins. Over and over again, you have surpassed all of my expectations for you three. I couldn't have asked for a better team…"

Shikamaru, Hinata, and Naruto all looked on at their sensei with a mixture of shock and joy. Hinata wiped her eyes to rid them of the forming tears in her eyes, while Naruto was struggling to not do the same.

"So Shikamaru, Naruto, Hinata…" Kakashi said, giving the three a closed eye smile and the thumbs up sign, "I know that you will all do great during the test. Just remember to work together as a team and you will all do fine. "And besides that, I have only one more thing to say to you three" Kakashi said, stepping aside for them to enter the door, " and that's good luck."

"Don't worry sensei. We're so good, we don't even need luck, right guys?" Naruto asked his teammates as he walked toward the door. Hinata nodded back with a smile, but Shikamaru just sighed and shook his head before following the blonde. Kakashi watched his Genin walk through the doorway, happy that Naruto seemed to be so determined.

_That can only be expected by Naruto, _Kakashi thought with a small laugh. When he had heard that the blonde had been accepted into the Hyuuga family, he had to admit he was afraid that it would perhaps turn the young boy for the worst. He was happy now to see that he had been wrong.

Kakashi looked one last time at his team before the door closed behind them. He sighed and turned around to leave. They were on their own now. He couldn't help them anymore. All he could do was hope that his training would do them good.

_Come back alive, _the Jonin thought, walking down the stairs.

* * *

"Well it looks like Sasuke was right when he said that there were going to be a lot of people here," Naruto said nervously as his eyes scanned the room. It was filled to the brim with tough looking shinobi. The fact that each and every one of them had been glaring at the three from the moment they walked into the room didn't help at all.

"Isn't this a cheery bunch," Shikamaru whispered to Naruto and Hinata. "Is it me, or does it seem like they hate us?"

"Not really," a voice suddenly interrupted in their conversation. The three looked over to see Kiba, Sakura, and Choji walking over to where they were standing. "Their just pissy because we're rookies and we get to take the exam this year," Kiba continued looking at the crowd with the small dog on top of his head looking also looking with a strangely similar stare. It seemed like the Inuzuka was about to make a very obscene gesture at the crowd when Sakura hastily put it down.

"I thought I told you not to do anything stupid, Kiba," Sakura whispered angrily before smiling sweetly at the crowd of people. "I'm sorry everyone, he doesn't know what he's saying. Don't worry though, he's had all of his shots."

Kiba bent his head down to the ground. "Sakura-chan…that hurt…"

"Well you deserve it," Sakura said crossing her arms, totally unfazed. "Ever since we saw that one weird bowl cut guy, you've been acting weird."

"I have the right to be!" Kiba yelled with Akamaru barking in agreement. He looked over at Naruto and the rest of the team. "You should have seen this guy! We were minding our own business when suddenly some guy in a green spandex jumpsuit comes over and starts messing with Sakura. Of course," he said crossing his arms, "I chased him off before he could do anything…"

"Really? I thought he kicked you into the wall across the room when you tried to attack him after he blew Sakura a kiss…" Choji said chuckling while eating his potato chips.

"Shut up, Chubby," Kiba said.

"For the last time, my name is Choji!" the "big boned" Genin shouted before going back to his chips.

"Well, you three seem to be getting along great," Shikamaru said to Choji with a confused smile on his face.

"No kidding," Naruto agreed. "Compared to them, me and you look like best friends, huh, Shikamaru?" The blonde turned back to Kiba and his team. "By the way, did this guy that you fought have eyebrows that were about as big as the hokage monument and kept on yelling about how great youth is?"

Kiba and Sakura looked at each other in surprise for a moment and then turned back to Naruto. "Yeah," Kiba said. "How'd you know."

Naruto tried to stifle his laugh, but in the end couldn't contain himself and nearly dropped to the ground laughing. "Oh, man! You actually thought that you could beat Lee, Kiba? Oh that's great."

"Shut up before I kick _your_ ass!" Kiba yelled angrily, but Naruto seemed to be too busy laughing still to throw back another comment.

"It seems that we have all encountered this odd Genin," a voice suddenly spoke from behind Naruto. This time, the blonde really did fall on the ground in surprise at the sudden voice. He looked up and saw Shino and Ino standing beside each other, Shino looking impassively down at Naruto from behind his sun glasses and Ino glaring over at a certain pink haired kunoichi.

"Did you have to sneak up behind me?!" Naruto shouted angrily. "Wait a second, you met Lee too?"

Ino made a loud sniffing noise in obvious disgust after Naruto said the green spandex wearing Genin's name.

"We met him alright," she said with her nose slightly wrinkled. "He came up to us and started harassing Sasuke for no good reason and challenged him to a fight. He had to have cheated somehow. There's no way that Sasuke could be…"

"So even Sasuke lost to him?!" Naruto finished for her, earning him a sharp glare from Ino and Sakura, who had immediately gotten interested in the conversation after hearing her long time crush's name. "Seriously though, I don't think any of us could probably beat Lee. The guy's a monster. Hey, wait a second." He stopped suddenly when he finally noticed something. "Where the heck is Sasuke anyhow? Why isn't he with you two?"

Shino wordlessly pointed over Naruto's shoulder. Naruto followed the direction and sure enough, he found Sasuke. He seemed to be talking with another student that was in the exam, though he seemed to have more of a bored and annoyed look than anything else. The man that he was talking to looked pretty old for Genin standards, almost looking to be approaching his twenties. He had grayish silver hair that went down his back and wore normal purple attire, along with a pair of round glasses.

"Who's that guy?" Naruto asked.

"No clue," Ino said shrugging and also looking over at Sasuke. "We showed up around ten minutes ago. As soon as we walked through the door, he called Sasuke over to give him some tips to pass the exam. Or that's at least what he said. They both have been talking for a while now…"

Naruto suddenly began walking over to where Sasuke stood, obviously not paying much attention to what Ino had been saying.

"Wouldn't it be more polite if he just stay over here and wait for Sasuke to be done?" Choji asked Shikamaru.

"You don't know Naruto too well," Shikamaru said back sighing. "He's not what you would call the politest of all ninja. Knowing him, he'll probably get himself into trouble…" The lazy Genin began to follow Naruto, which Choji followed suit.

"Hey, where are you going?" Kiba called after Choji before following as well with Sakura and leaving Shino, Hinata, and Ino behind.

As they approached, the silver haired man merely continued to talk to Sasuke as if nothing was happening. He stopped though when he saw the eight other children coming their way.

"Friends of yours, Sasuke-san?" he asked.

Sasuke turned around and smirked when he saw Naruto leading the pack of Genin toward him. Naruto returned the smirk when he finally got to where Sasuke stood.

"About time you showed up, dobe," Sasuke said almost smiling. "I was beginning to worry that you got scared and decided to not take the exam. Good thing you didn't. It's been way too long since I've last beaten you up."

"Right, right," Naruto said shrugging off the comment. He glanced up at the taller man and looked over at Sasuke in confusion. "So who's this guy you're talking to anyways?"

"You all must be friends with Sasuke-san," the man said once again smiling kindly at the children. "The names Yukashi Kabuto. I was just giving him advice about the exam. Admittedly," he said chuckling, "I kind of just wanted to see the Great Uchiha Sasuke for myself."

"Apparently, he knows a lot about the exam," Sasuke said next. "He says this is the easiest part of it all and that everything after this will be the more dangerous stuff."

Naruto suddenly felt his hopes rise a little bit. So today wasn't the scary day after all.

"Well that's a shame. I really wanted to kick some ass today. Guess I'll just have to wait until tomorrow, huh?" Naruto said laughing loudly and making many people in the room look over at him angrily and making some of the more fidgety members of the group look back at them warily.

"And you said that I was idiot," Kiba whispered over at Sakura, but she didn't answer, apparently too busy gazing at Sasuke to even notice the dog user. It was obvious that Kiba was pretty annoyed by this, but his dog, Akamaru, gave him a playful lick on the ear from on top of his head in comfort.

Kabuto looked at each of the Genin, while they continued to chat amongst themselves. Besides Sasuke and the quite boy in the black sunglasses, none of them appeared to be anything special. Well, at least all of them besides one. He narrowed his eyes and looked over at Naruto, who was now in an argument with Sasuke over who would do better in the exam. Kabuto had not expected to meet the Kyuubi kid in the exam that year. Sure, it was true that he was the same age as Sasuke, but so far he had done nothing else but study Sasuke's behavior during his time away from Otokagure. He hadn't gotten the chance to find out stuff about Naruto yet. But just by judging him as he was now, he didn't seem to be anything more than just a loudmouth cocky brat.

_Still, I better keep an eye on him, _Kabuto thought looking across the room at the far corner, where a female Kusa (Grass) nin sat, staring in their direction. The undercover sound nin nodded at the shinobi, but the only reply he got was her lowering her round hat to shield her eyes from him.

Most of the Genin had finally decided to end their stares at the rookies and instead resumed talking to their teammates, but one team of Genin still watched the rookie nine intently.

"Look at them," Kankuro growled, still looking at the crowd. "Acting like a bunch of idiots as if this is some stupid field trip that they are allowed to go on. I can't wait to wring my hands around their necks, especially that blonde kid." The puppet user gripped his hands together as if to show his siblings how strongly he apparently wanted this.

"The only one acting stupid right now is you, Kankuro," Temari said leaning back on her hands on the desk that she sat on, her back to the rookies. She did turn around though and saw the lazy bastard that she had faced in shogi last night seemed to be more tired than anxious about the exam.

"It looks like I'm not the only one who wants a little revenge though, huh?" the oldest boy of the sand trio said smirking. Temari sent her brother a sharp glare, and the puppet user took the hint and stayed quite.

Temari looked back over her shoulder one last time and grudgingly admitted that Kankuro was right. Though she was able to hide it better than Kankuro could, she also felt the need to settle a score with the laziest of the Rookie Nine. The way that he had looked at her during their match…that mocking smile…she took in a deep breath to calm her mind a bit, but she still took comfort of the thought of whacking her fan across his snide face.

By some unknown notion that she had, she turned her head over to her left just in time to see three blured figures charging toward the back of the room. The three were so fast and quiet that they weaved through the crowd without even being noticed by most of the canidates there. There was no doubt that they knew what they were doing.

"Well, looks like someone is trying to beat you to them, Kankuro," she said, watching the figures continue to run at the group. Kankuro looked in the direction that Temari was looking and raised an eyebrow as he watched them charge. He looked over at Gaara to see if he noticed as well, but apparently even if he did, he seemed to be more intent on staring at the two who had asked him his name the previous night. Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke…

Sasuke suddenly took out his kunai and turned toward the crowd of Genin. At first, the others were about to ask what he was doing, but he was able to just in time block three flying shuriken that were aimed at his head. Immediately, Naruto was beside him with a kunai out as well.

Three Genins with the mark of a musical note on their hitae-ates jumped in the air at them, two male and one female.

"You've all seem to be pretty confident in these exams!" the boy in the middle shouted as he descended on the group. He wore a long sleeve coat that seemed to have been a bit too long, as the sleeves ended much past where his arms did. His entire head was covered in bandages with the exception of one eye, which looked down at them viciously. "Well how confident do you feel now?!"

The classroom suddenly shook from a loud explosion from the front of the class. Some Genin, thinking that this was some part of the exam, drew out a kunai or some other type of weapon, all of them eyeing the large cloud of smoke that now blocked their view of the front of the classroom. The three Genin that had been attacks stopped where they were and looked back to the front of the room.

"Everyone of you put down your weapons! You won't be needing them here!" The smoke finally cleared out and everyone could finally see clearly again. At the front of the classroom stood several Konoha Chunin and one very serious and slightly scary looking man in the front. "Well, at least you won't need them yet," the large man said chuckling. He wore he Konoha headband as a bandana, and he was also wearing a very large black overcoat that everyone could only guess was in it. Underneath the large coat was a dark blue button up shirt and matching pants, which might have given him a business like look if it wasn't for the coat.. He had very tan skin and one long scar going from the top left side of his forehead and going down to his middle chin and another that stretched diagonally from below his right eye and around his head.

"What do you think you're doing…?" the man asked, no one wondering who he was talking to. The Oto Genin turned around and looked at Ibiki, though none of them seemed to hold an ounce of respect toward him. "Who told you that you could attack other candidates? I should throw you three out right now!"

"Sorry," the bandaged Genin said, though it seemed to have a mocking edge to it. "Just a little excited for the exams. Don't worry, we won't try anything now. We were just having a little fun."

The man at the front of the classroom narrowed his eyes at the three, but then turned to the rest of the class once again. "My name is Morino Ibiki," the man said, though he said it with a slight sneer. "And I will be your first examiner for these exams. And I thought I told all of you to put your weapons away!" he shouted angrily, which all the Genin immediately obeyed. Mostly the reason why none of them had put them away the first time was because most of them had been so intimidated by the man that most of them had forgotten what they had been doing.

"Now listen up," Ibiki said, looking across the room at each of the candidates. "None of you are allowed to fight while I am here, and if anybody has a problem with it, they can bring it up with me…" he said, looking specifically at the three Oto nins.

A couple of the Chunin behind Ibiki couldn't help but chuckle from behind him. Though it may not look like it, they all knew that Ibiki was, at the moment, having a very good time. This was the stuff that he lived for. Scaring the pee out of ninja and getting them rattled up.

"So all of you," he said taking a large stack of papers from the inside pocket of his coat, "line up and hand in your registration paper and we'll give you one of these. Once everyone was ready, we'll start the written test."

"Oh hell no," Naruto said with his jaw dropping. "He did NOT just say 'written test'."

* * *

"Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it," Naruto muttered to himself as he continued to look down at the questions in front of him as though they had been written in another language (which oddly enough, one of them were and they were supposed to translate it). So far out of the first ten minutes that the test had been assigned, the only thing that he had written on his paper was his name.

"I hope that will at least give me one point," he muttered desperately. He had no idea where to start on any of them. When he had tried to do the math on one of them, he had ended up with his answer saying that it would take an hour for a kunai to arrive at the place where it was heading.

Naruto leaned back in his chair and looked back at the rest of the crowd to see if he could find anybody else. It was kind of hard though, since he had the luck of ending up being in the very middle of the second row! He could only barely see Hinata from underneath the arm of Konoha Genin that looked to be having just as hard of time as Naruto. The closest one he could find was Shikamaru, who was about two rows back, but he was still too far to give him any help at all. A little farther back, he saw Neji looking ahead of him and writing quickly with his Byakugan activated. Naruto swore under his breath once again, angry that he hadn't come from a clan that had a special bloodline trait like the Hyuuga. Of course, knowing Hinata, she was probably beating herself up for no longer having her Byakugan and doing the same thing.

The blonde looked up at the tall man in the front of the room, scanning the crowd of Genin with narrowed eyes. Naruto couldn't help but shake. Every time it seemed like the idea of cheating rushed into his head, Ibiki's eyes would fall on him, and Naruto would instead look down and pretend to be writing something on his paper, waiting for the eyes to look somewhere else.

"Not as easy as you had thought it would be, isn't it?"

A shiver ran up Naruto's spine when he heard the voice, and he slowly turned his head to the woman that sat next to him. She wore a hat that was similar to what Tazuna had worn when they were protecting him, though she bent it downward so that Naruto could not see her eyes. She had long and straight black hair, and her voice seemed to be unnaturally deep. What threw him off about the voice was how cold it sounded…it nearly frightened him.

"But what are you going to do now?" the woman asked raising her hat up enough so that Naruto could see her eyes and barely see the Kusa hitae-ate on her forehead. "Quit and go home? Or perhaps you'll actually work up the courage to cheat? Either way, I doubt you'll be able to get through this exam…it's obvious that you're way in over your head. Look at yourself, your shaking."

Naruto looked at his hand and was now trying to steady it. It wasn't that he was getting _that _scared of the woman. She was just really pissing him off right now. Iruka-sensei always said that he had too big of a temper for his own good.

"Just shut up and mind your own damn business," Naruto muttered to the woman, looking back at his test. For a fraction of a second, he looked over at the woman's paper, and saw to his dismay that she had finished all of her questions already. Only after twenty minutes of the test!

"Well it seems that all you have left to rely on is the tenth question…" the woman spoke, smiling at him in a mockingly way. "But I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you."

Though Naruto didn't want to admit it, she was right. There was no chance that he could answer all of these questions all by himself. All he could do now was just pray that the promised last question would be easy enough for him to solve. If it wasn't he, along with Shikamaru and Hinata, were doomed for sure.

Two rows back, Shikamaru gave a sigh as he continued to watch Naruto. It was only too obvious by the way he was acting that he had no idea what he was doing. Though, he had to admit, he had been lucky. He had noticed that the Genin to the right of him, a girl with her brown hair pulled into two buns and a pink shirt, was moving her pencil side to side in an obviously deliberate way. After looking around the room, he finally found that she was positioning a mirror that was on the wall from paper to paper, finding the one with the best answers. Though Shikamaru only had enough time to copy down seven out of the nine problems in time before she moved it again for some unknown reason, but it was enough to give him and his team at least a fighting chance.

He wasn't as worried about Hinata, she would somehow find out a way to get the questions, he was pretty sure of that. The only problem was that Naruto seemed to be panicking too much to be able to think clearly.

_Looks like Naruto's going to need a little help then, _Shikamaru said making his signature hand sign from beneath the table so that the Chunin from the side of the room wouldn't be able to see him.

"Number 45! Fail!" the Chunin in his row suddenly yelled. Shikamaru stopped what he was doing immediately, everyone's eyes going to the Genin boy that was to his left, a Konoha boy around the age of fifteen with his jaw dropped. The Nara breathed heavily, suddenly realizing how close he might have been to being caught. After a minute of the boy arguing with both Ibiki and the Chunin that had yelled his number, the kid walked out the door with his head bowed and both of his teammates following him, both obviously angry.

Shikamaru took a deep breath, knowing that losing at least two points for one time cheating would be better than Naruto having zero points all together and making them automatically fail.

"Kagemane no Jutsu," he whispered softly. He carefully maneuvered his shadow around the other unaware students taking the test. He smiled in victory when he saw Naruto suddenly tense up, obviously being caught in his shadow. Shikamaru quickly took his pencil that was still in his hand and wrote where he hoped Naruto's paper was: **Shika Shadow**, before he could shout out something that would give them both away. He breathed a little easier when he saw that Naruto seemed to relax a little.

The young genius watched Naruto do the exact things he was doing. He picked up Naruto's paper and flipped it to the back, putting it down. On the desk where Naruto's test sheet was, he wrote: **Copy what's on this to the front. Only 7 done**. He checked one last time to make sure that the Chunin in his row wasn't paying attention to him, but he seemed to be looking farther ahead of the row at a pretty confident looking Genin. Immediately, Shikamaru began writing down the answers to the question on his desk…or more precisely, Naruto's paper.

In the very back row of the room, Sasuke lifted his head off of the table, feeling very groggy. He rubbed his forehead, trying to shake his dizziness. He hated it when Ino possessed him. It always turned out badly for him. He looked down at his paper and was at least satisfied that she was able to give him all the answers to the questions, though he did have to erase a rather large heart in the bottom left corner that had Ino and Sasuke printed inside of it.

He leaned back and wished silently that he had already activated his Sharingan. When he wasn't training with Asuma and the rest of his team, he would always be training by himself, trying to make himself more powerful in an attempt to activate it. If only he had, then he wouldn't have needed Ino to possess him, he could just find some smart kid himself and copy his pencil movements to get the answers. Not to mention that it was his only way of gaining enough power to avenge his entire clan…

Back near the front, Naruto felt himself relax after he had copied down all of the answers Shikamaru had given him to the front of the paper. He looked around the room and found that almost a fourth of the kids that had been there had been taken out of the exam. He crossed his arms behind his head, grinning. He didn't understand why they were so stupid to fail, it hadn't been that hard to get the answers…

"You're lucky that your friend was there to save you," the woman said next to Naruto again, though she didn't look over at him and was instead leaning forward with both of her arms resting on the desk.

Naruto sniggered as he held up his test for her to see clearly. "Well it doesn't matter what you say, because this test is in the bag for me. It doesn't even matter if I get this last question wrong anyways. Me and my team are going to pass for sure."

The woman next to him laughed, making the hair on the back of Naruto's neck stand on end. "You really are overconfident," she said looking at him and widening her eyes at him and licking her lips with and unnaturally long, purple tongue. "Those are the ones who usually die first…"

Naruto felt his insides suddenly turn cold. There was something…bad about this woman. He could feel it. It was as if she could suffocate the air around him and kill him if she really wanted to, and the blonde ninja was starting to think that she was doing a pretty good job at it. For a moment, Naruto could only think that he needed to get as far away from where he was as possible or else something bad was going to happen.

He felt himself almost begin to rise out of his chair, but his thoughts were interrupted by Ibiki. "That's it!" the bearish man yelled to the crowed. "Forty five minutes are up, and now it's finally time for the final question…but before that, you need to know about a couple more rules that apply to this question and this question alone."

The room had once again fallen silent, staring up at Ibiki. The ANBU interrogator took a step forward an looked around the classroom again. "First off," he began, "is that if you do not feel like taking the tenth question, you don't need to. Know that if you do that, your score will be automatically docked down to zero, and you and your team will automatically be disqualified from the exam."

The room suddenly was full of angry muttering about these new set of rules, which Naruto couldn't help but agree with.

"But," Ibiki continued, causing the class to once again become silent, "if you do decide to take the final question, and end up getting it wrong, you will forever be prohibited from taking the exams ever again!"

Instead of muttering this time, the class fell into a dumbstruck silence.

"What do you mean we can't take the test again!" a kid a couple seats down from Naruto yelled. "What kind of rule is that anyway?! Who do you think-"

"Who I think I am…" Ibiki said darkly, "is the proctor of this part of the exam. This is how I feel like doing the exam. But by all means, if you don't feel like taking the risk, the doors are wide open for you to leave…"

The class suddenly became silent again, each of the students looking around the classroom for anyone who didn't want to take the question.

"That's it! I quit!" some Genin in the back yelled, raising his hand, causing all eyes suddenly going to him. As if this was some kind of signal for the rest of the candidates, more Genin began putting up their hands and walked out the door.

As he continued to watch everyone leave the room, Naruto began to feel more and more uneasy. What if Shikamaru didn't know the answer to the question and he was on his own…then both of them would be stuck as Genin for the rest of their lives! He couldn't take that risk…he was supposed to be Hokage someday!

"So what's it going to be?" the woman beside him asked again, causing all of Naruto's attention to go on her. "It may be best for you to just wait and take the exams next year…perhaps then you'll be ready. If you do raise your hand, you'll also be putting your friends out of danger also, saving both you and yourself at the same time. Surely you don't want to stay a lowly Genin forever…do you?"

Once again, Naruto couldn't help but relate to what she was saying. It was as if she knew exactly what was going on in his head. Maybe she was right. Maybe he was better off taking the exam next year.

Naruto began to raise up his shaking hand, ready to yell out that he would quit. He froze suddenly, not able to move his body. Hastily, his body picked up his pencil and began scribbling furiously on his paper.

**What the hell do you think you're doing? Why did you almost run away? I thought you didn't want that anymore.**

Naruto looked sadly at the writing. Who cares what he said before? Did he really want to give all of his dreams away for one stinkin' problem?

His hand moved one more time and spelt one last word on the paper: **Neji**.

Naruto's eyes shot wide open again. Shikamaru was right! If he did quit, he would be doing exactly what Neji would have thought he would do, just run away and play it safe. And what would Lee or Sasuke think also? He didn't see them running away from some stupid question.

Naruto smiled when he finally felt Shikmaru's shadow fall off of him. He turned around and gave Shikamaru a thumbs up, which his teammate just responded by rolling his eyes in 'it's about time' fashion.

"Sorry, lady," Naruto said, looking determinedly at the woman again. "I'm not running away from this. Whatever this question is, well he can bring it on. I'll take on anything this exam will throw at me."

For the first time, the woman didn't respond, she just continued to look over at Naruto. Then she closed her eyes and laughed darkly to herself. _One again, Konoha seems to have spat out another hopeless shinobi…_

"Well then," Ibiki said to the remaining Genin, "is there anybody else here who doesn't want to take the last question?" There was no response from the class, all of them instead looking straight ahead at the large man.

_Sixty three…_ the Special Jonin thought looking around the classroom. _A little more than I thought there would have been… Perhaps all of these runts aren't as spineless as I had originally thought._ He gave one last nod to the Chunins that surrounded the classroom, which they returned back.

"Well then everyone," Ibiki said with what probably surprised the Genin most of all: a smile. "Congratulations! You've all passed the first part of the exam!"

Most of the Genin in the room's mouths suddenly dropped open in shock, most of them wondering what had just happened.

"I see that most of you don't understand," Ibiki said. "Here, let me explain…"

Naruto suddenly jumped in surprise when Ibiki was interrupted by the window suddenly shattering while something rushed into the room. Too quick for anybody to practically see, a banner was suddenly placed in front of where Ibiki had been speaking and a woman stood in front of that.

"Alright all of you!" she yelled to the class, "you may have all gotten through this first exam, but I promise that mine will be much more difficult…and deadly! My name is Mitarashi Anko, and I am the proctor of the second exam!"

The room seemed to have gone into it's most intense silences yet. Some woman in fishnet that just barely covered her more private spots by a tan overcoat and orange skirt type pants had just burst through the window and began yelling at them about taking the second exam. _What the hell_, Naruto thought looking up at her.

"You're even more early than usual, Anko," Ibiki said walking out from behind the banner that the woman had put up. "If you would have come in thirty seconds earlier, you would have interrupted the final question…"

Anko took a step back in dismay, looking around the classroom that was filled with Genin staring at her as if she was some kind of alien. "Well…" Anko said, trying to find out an excuse as fast as possible. "I just wanted to come in and evaluate how you would handle the rest of the class after you were done! I do believe that I surprised everyone with my trick as well…a ninja should always be prepared!"

_I'm not sure if I could ever be prepared for something like that, _Naruto thought as he continued to watch the odd scene unfold in front of him.

"Right," Ibiki said, obviously not nearly convinced. "Well you can just wait up a second while I handle the rest of this. I still need to explain to them the point of the exam."

"Sure, whatever," Anko said, taking a seat on top of the desk in the front of the room and crossing her legs. "Go ahead."

Barely ten seconds into Ibiki's speech, Anko's mind began to drift off. She always has been told by both of her former senseis that she needed to pay attention more. She attempted to pass the time by looking at the Genin that had passed the exam. She sat up a little straighter to see the back, and saw the well known Uchiha Sasuke, listening to Ibiki attentively. She could also find the children of the Kazekage, whom she had found out about by word of Izumo and Kotetsu. By the looks of things, most of the Genin that had made it were from Konoha, but that wasn't surprising since the majority of the candidates had come from the village. There were a couple teams from Ame and Suna but she could only find one squad from Oto, though that wasn't surprising since it had only just sprung up out of nowhere.

Her eyes suddenly halted in the center of the second row where a blonde Genin was still looking at her instead of at Ibiki. When he saw that Anko had noticed, he quickly turned away and looked back at the large man.

Anko brushed off the temporary surprise that she had when she saw the boy. It made sense she supposed, it had been twelve years since when the Kyuubi had attacked their village, he was around the age that kids became Genins. She was just expecting to see the kid in a couple years when he was older. Then again, she had heard that Kakashi had been assigned to him and he was known to be a good teacher, despite his laziness, tardiness, porn addiction…on second thought, maybe he shouldn't be a Genin sensei after all.

"And that is why cowards will not pass my exam," Ibiki said replacing his bandana on his head and snapping Anko out of her thoughts. "Anybody who cannot face tough decisions with courage will not be passing my test. That is how I feel."

"Are you done yet?" Anko said yawning. "You nearly put me asleep with all of your yapping." Ibiki sent her a slightly annoyed look, but in the end just nodded to her, allowing her to talk. "About time!" she yelled jumping to her feet again. "Now it's my turn for the exam, and let me tell you, it isn't going to be as easy as this! You will all be contacted with instructions on where the second exam will be tomorrow. And make sure you say goodbye to your friends and family, you might not be seeing them ever again," she said, making the class look around in fright at the other students.

Five minutes later, the entire classroom had emptied besides her and Ibiki, who was now picking up all of the test papers that had been left on the desks.

"You've been uncharacteristically quite, Anko," Ibiki said from across the room.

"Eh," she said, shrugging. "...I was just surprised that the kid with the Kyuubi was in the exam. I didn't expect him to be here so early," she said as if it was some stupid information no one would be interested in.

Ibiki stayed silent for a moment as he continued to pick up the papers.

"You still don't blame yourself for what had happened, do you?" he asked. Anko tensed up a little, she had not expected Ibiki to know such information. Of course, there were few things that Ibiki did not know.

"Nah," she said simply, approaching the window to leave.

"Where you going?" he asked, stopping to watch her.

"Who are you, my mother?" Anko asked, looking back at him snidely. "If you must know, I'm going out for a walk. Now mind your own business." She then jumped out the window and Ibiki watched her jump from housetop to housetop away into the city.

"She's a spunky one," the man said with a small laugh. He then straightened the last of the papers before putting them into his coat pocket and looking out the window. "Still, I hope she really is alright…"

* * *

_Okay, first off…I just want to tell you all that Anko is not Naruto's mother, sister, cousin, or anyway blood related to him. So don't get any ideas about that._

_But besides that, hope you liked the chapter. Leave a review, as fellow writers, you understand how great it feels to know that someone is actually enjoying your story. So, I'll see you all later._

_GAZ_


	16. A Snake in the Forest

_Well…it's about time that I get to a point in my story where I can finally start up the action once again. All I hope for is that I haven't gotten rusty at it at all. Well, I won't waste anymore of your time now. Hope you enjoy my new chapter._

* * *

Anko looked around at the large group of Genin in front of her, not able to suppress her grin. She loved it when the newbees looked at the location of the second task for the first time in their lives. It was just too priceless for words.

"Welcome everyone," she said while extending her arm behind her to the foreboding forest that was behind her, "to the forty fourth battle training zone. Of course, that's its official name. Most of us that have taken the exam before just like calling it the Forest of Death. Oh, and don't you worry, you'll know exactly why it's called that real soon."

It only appeared that even half of the Genin were even paying attention to her. Most of the others seemed to have peed themselves just by looking at the forest.

"Will you just look at this place," Naruto said looking up at the forest. "I'm getting creeped out just by looking at it."

"Well, this explains a lot," Shikamaru said. Hinata and Naruto immediately turned their heads over at the lazy genius. Choji's team was by them as well, and they too looked over at him. Shikamaru sighed, realizing that he might be in for a bunch of questions that he didn't know the answers to. "It's something that my dad told me this morning. He said that yesterday's test was the easy part of the exam when I got home. He said that today would be the hard part. And before I left, my Mom cried and gave me a hug, acting like she would never see me again. Judging by the looks of this place, she probably had the right idea."

Naruto noticed that Kiba, Choji, and Sakura looked at each other a little nervously when Shikamaru was done talking. He couldn't blame them, it was all he could do to just keep looking cool himself.

"So…" Kiba said, deciding to take part in the conversation, "did he say anything else about the test at all? Like what we needed to do or anything?"

"Nope," Shikamaru said shrugging. "He said that it would 'ruin the surprise'."

"Well that helps us all out a lot," Sakura complained while crossing her arms.

"Your family is weird, Shikamaru," Naruto said plainly.

"I prefer the word troublesome," the Nara replied, putting his hands inside of his pockets and sighing.

"Alright everybody, quite down!" Anko yelled, gathering all the attention onto her again. "Before we can start the exams, you all need to sign this," she said as she pulled out a stack of papers from inside of her jacket. For a moment, Naruto's heart skipped a beat, thinking that it was another written test that they had to do. But this passed after he read the caption at the top of the paper.

"Consent forms?" Hinata asked, beating Naruto to the question.

"That's right," Anko said, passing the pile to a Konoha Genin that Naruto didn't know. "To take the test, you and both of your teammates are required to sign these papers before you can take part in the next exam. After you sign them, you will go to the desk over there to hand them in," she said pointing at a desk where three Chunin sat, watching all of the Genin in a slightly bored manner.

"Yeah, but what's the point of signing them?" Ino asked raising her hand politely where she stood a little farther off from Naruto's team with Shino and Sasuke on either side of her.

"Because this part of the exam is based on survival," Anko answered with a smile as though it was the most entertaining question that she had heard all day. "A lot of you may not be coming back from the forest after you enter. You need to sign these so that everybody will know that it was your decision to go in on your own and that we aren't responsible for whatever happens to you."

"Ha!" Kiba yelled, his voice almost sounding like a bark. "It doesn't matter what this test is about, our team is unbeatable! Just you wait," he said, turning to Naruto. "By the time this test is over, all three of us will be Chunins."

"Good luck, Dog Boy," Naruto said. He smiled when he saw Kiba's face contort in anger from the name he had been called during the academy and gave Naruto the middle finger, which the blonde returned back.

"So here's how this is going to be done," Anko said, once again putting a hand inside her jacket and this time taking out two scrolls, one black and one white. "You and your teammates will be fighting to get these scrolls. One is a heaven scroll and the other is an earth scroll. You need to get both of them to pass the exam. If you do find the scrolls, your next objective is to get to the center of the forest and arrive at the tower there. That is where the third part of the exam will be explained."

"So are you saying that we're supposed to go into the forest and find them?" Sasuke asked.

"Oh no, after turning in your forms, each team will receive one scroll from the very beginning," Anko said looking over at Sasuke as if he was an idiot. "To get the other scroll, you need to take it from another team in the exam. You all better not be lazy about it though, you only have five days to complete the task. If you don't make it in time, well that's too bad for you."

"So…" Shikamaru said raising his hand, "If we decide that we don't feel like doing this thing anymore in the middle of the exam…"

"Oh no you don't!" Naruto said putting Shikamaru in a headlock. "I'm not going to let your lazy ass ruin me and Hinata's chances of making Chunin."

"Fine, fine," Shikamaru said shaking the blonde off of him. "It's just that this exam is so-"

"Shikamaru, seriously, get a bigger vocabulary," Naruto interrupted before his teammate could speak his trademark word.

"That's weird, I'm surprised that you even know what the word vocabulary means," Shikamaru replied back with a small laugh. Naruto looked back with a slightly hurt look on his face, though Hinata merely giggled quietly at the two.

"Anyways," Anko said, coughing to gain the attention of the candidates again and avoiding eye contact with the team that had caused the distraction, "I'll give you and your teammates a chance to talk before we open up the desk to take your forms and give you your scroll."

"Hey! Wait!" Anko stopped and turned around after hearing the call. She visibly winced when she saw who it was. Uzumaki Naruto.

"What do you want," she asked snidely.

"Is that it? Don't you have anything else to say?" Naruto asked, some of the Genin nodded in agreement to his statement.

Anko smiled back, though instead of reassuring the Genin, it seemed to make them even more frightened. It seemed forced and hard. "I sure do," she said. She opened her eyes again and looked straight at Naruto. "Try your best not to die," she said before turning around and walking to the desk.

"Well that helps us out a lot," Naruto grumbled while looking back at his form, deciding that it was better to just leave the crazy lady alone for now on.

* * *

"Anko-san," a shinobi said, suddenly appearing beside her.

She turned her head only just enough to see him out of the corner of her eye to see who it was.

"Yeah, what is it?" she asked the man, looking as if the forest in front of her was much more interesting than anything that the newcomer wanted to say.

"All of the Genin have received their scrolls and are now at their starting positions for the exam. All that is left now is for you to give the signal to start," he said, standing up straight and also looking at the forest. "So…how many do you think are going to make it to the third round this year?" he asked.

Anko laughed before she turned to face the Chunin for the first time since he arrived. "Everybody keeps saying that this year is supposed to be full of prominent Genin and a bunch of other crap. If you ask me, none of these squirts look any different from the ones that came last year. I'm expecting…maybe four teams to make it through, tops."

"You're harsher than usual, Anko-san," the Chunin said laughing nervously.

Anko shrugged back while looking at her watch. Five minutes left. Five more minutes of safety for all of these kids… and after that, all hell would break lose. But hey, that's what this whole exam was about. Showing just how determined you were to succeed and how far you will go to win.

The Tokubetsu rubbed her neck absentmindedly. Ibiki had tried a couple times to corner her and tell her what the "true" reasons behind the exams were when she first became an examiner, but she had been able to get away from his lectures so far. Heck, with how dull the scared ANBU captain's lectures were, she was pretty sure that he could probably get information a lot more quickly out of people if he would just torture them by telling them the history of Konoha.

Unexpectedly, her entire body tensed up as the side of her neck suddenly surged with pain, and she gave a quite yelp in surprise. She quickly turned her head to the Chunin that had showed up, but saw that he was no longer paying attention to her and was instead checking out the candidates of the exam.

Anko could hear her breath suddenly becoming more ragged as the combination of the pain and fear began to take its tool on her. This wasn't normal. Why would the cursed seal react so suddenly and violently? She couldn't even remember the last time it had reacted like this! It had to have been years ago. Back when…

"Um…excuse me, Anko-san," the Chunin said. Anko whipped her head around at the Chunin, who took a step back after being startled by the fierce glare that he had received. "Uh…" he said, trying his best to not look as unnerved as he already was, "the exam is about to start."

For a minute, Anko just stared at the Chunin in confusion, looking as if she had only just remembered that he had been standing there beside her for the last couple of minutes. Finally, after calming herself down a little bit more, she took her hand off of her seal and looked down at her watch. There was barely two minutes left before the exam started.

"Okay," spoke softly, though her voice seemed to be more distant than it had been before. She looked over at the team closest to her and saw that it was the team that the blonde kid with the Kyuubi trapped inside of him was in. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the boy. Was the fact that Naruto was in the exam that year had any connection to her mark suddenly activating? Could _he _be hunting him?

She glanced one last time at her watch and saw that there was only ten seconds left until the doors opened. She hesitated for a moment. Should she just tell them all to stay where they were? Cancel the exam until some other time? Was there someone out there that was now more dangerous than any beast or plant that was in the forest right now? But what if there was no danger at all…

"…Alright!" she yelled finally. "The time has finally come! The second exam has begun!"

She turned her head one last time to see the team that Naruto was on before they bolted into to forest and leaving the Chunin that had been watching over them behind. That was it. All the Genin were out of her hands now. There was nothing that she could do to help them now…or was there?

"Well, looks like we'll finally be able to see just how good the new candidates are this year. You want to head over to the tower now to wait for the first team to show up…Anko-san?" he asked when he noticed the far off look in her eyes. "Is there something wrong?"

"…No," Anko spat back with such ferocity that the younger Chunin drew back a step. She carefully raised the collar of her coat so that it hid the cursed mark and turned around away from the man. "I have something important to attend to with the Hokage. I know that I'm supposed to head for the tower as soon as the exam starts…but this can't wait. You'll go to the tower instead and give tell them where I'm going. Got it?"

"Y-yes ma'am!" the Chunin exclaimed as he made a seal with both hands and disappeared, with only a swirl of leaves to mark that anybody had even stood there at all.

After making sure that the man had indeed left, Anko took a deep breath and ran into the Forest of Death. She knew that she was taking a risk here. Though she had lied about meeting the Hokage, she also knew that she was taking a far greater risk by attempting to find the man that she was searching for. She didn't even know if Orochimaru was there or not. But somehow, she knew if her former sensei was indeed in the village, he would be infiltrating the exam. She didn't know how she knew, she just did.

Once again, Anko's hand went to the mark on her neck. She could only hope that, despite what she felt, this was only a side affect of the seal that had not occurred for many years. But if it did mean that Orochimaru was near, then maybe…just maybe, she could save a couple lives before it was too late.

* * *

"Hey, Shikamaru," Naruto said from behind his teammate.

The lazy Nara turned his head to the side to look at the whiskered Genin. "What is it?" he asked, not at all slowing down.

"What do you mean, what is it?!" Naruto yelled. "Come on already, we've already been running ever since the exam began. Don't you think that it's about time we took a break or something?"

"I think Naruto-kun's right," Hinata panted deeply as they continued their way into farther into the forest. "We have been running for quite some time now. Don't you think that we should rest up just in case we run into another team soon? Otherwise, won't be able to do our best against them if we are tired…"

"Fine," Shikamaru said, finally stopping on the next branch he was on and looking back, his dark eyes scanning the forest behind him for any signs of movement.

Naruto, on the other hand, took the time to sit up against the tree on a branch above Shikamaru and took a long drink from his canteen. "Sheesh, Shikamaru. I thought that you were too lazy to run for that long." He paused for a moment before he took another long drink while some water dripped down his chin. "What was the point of all that anyways? Do you know where someone is, or something?"

Shikamaru looked over at his teammates and frowned. The truth was that only five minutes after they had first gotten into the forest, he picked up signs from behind them that they were being followed. He had been able to keep Naruto and Hinata from knowing until they could get away in time. Knowing Naruto, he would just turn right around and charge into battle the second he heard that someone was behind them. There was also little doubt that Hinata probably would have followed right behind him, worrying about his well being. The best option was to try and get away from the other team as soon as possible. It would be better if they were the ones doing the ambushing, not the other way around.

"Shikamaru?" Hinata asked, noticing the boy spacing out. Once again, Shikamaru cursed himself for not being able to pay attention to anything while he was thinking to himself. He knew that it would come back to haunt him someday when he actually had an important mission. Of course, after fighting Zabuza, the thought of taking a B-rank mission no longer seemed as frightening as it had once been.

"Ah, it's nothing," Shikamaru replied lazily. "Right now, we have to think of a plan when we get into a fight. I think we should also camp out here for a little while. We're mostly on the edge of the forest and most of the teams will probably be heading deeper into the woods."

Hinata and Naruto exchanged confused glances to each other.

"But…aren't we supposed to be finding other teams to get the other scroll?" Hinata asked. "If we stay on the edge, there's hardly any chance that we'll meet up with another team."

"Exactly," Shikamaru said. He sighed after seeing the confused expressions remain on his teammates' faces. "Just think about it, most teams are going to search this forest all over to try and find a team as fast as possible. During that time, they will become more and more tired. Not to mention the fights they actually will encounter. But if we stay over here, we can rest up and wait later, maybe even sometime tonight. Then, we can ambush some team that's too tired to even move and get their scroll. Even if it isn't the one we need, we can still keep theirs to either bait a dangerous team away from us or slim the chances of others getting to the next round. We've only gone thirty minutes into this exam and we have five days to complete it. I think it'll be safe if we camp out here for a little while."

"Oh, I get it," Naruto said crossing his arms and nodding, telling Shikamaru immediately that he didn't get it at all. Hinata on the other hand seemed to have gotten everything.

"I think it's a good idea," the Hyuuga girl said nodding. "…Still, I'm worried about Sasuke-kun, Sakura-san, and everybody else."

"Relax," Shikamaru said. "If it's anybody that we don't need to worry about, it's Prince Sasuke and the rest of his team. Kiba will probably be able to protect Choji and Sakura also, as long as he doesn't get too cocky at least. If anything, his nose will keep them out of danger. Don't worry about them, right now, just worry about our team."

"You're right, you should be the ones worrying about getting hurt," a familiar voice said from above them.

Shikamaru cursed loudly but Naruto smiled as they and Hinata looked up. Above them stood Sasuke, Ino, and Shino on a high branch, looking down at them.

"I would have thought that you would have taken a break sooner than now. You always were falling asleep in class, dobe," Sasuke said mockingly.

Shikamaru looked over at Naruto and saw the excited look in his sapphire eyes. It couldn't have been more apparent that he had been looking forward to this exact moment for a very long time, perhaps ever since he and Sasuke had been separated into different teams. Whatever the reason was, Shikamaru knew that a possible unneeded and pointless battle was about to ensue. If Sasuke's team didn't even have the right scroll, all Naruto would be doing was wasting his energy.

It was obvious that Shino was also thinking along these same lines. "Sasuke, it may be best if we avoid this fight. It's obvious that this battle is more out of…personal reasons than to proceed to the third part of the exam. I would suggest that…"

"Shino, shut up," Sasuke said, not even looking at the bug user. The Aburame let out a sigh before turning to Ino without saying a word, obviously looking for some back up at that moment.

"Oh will you relax," she said waving her arm at Shino, causing the taller Genin to lower his eyebrows in frustration. "Either way, we're giving our team a better chance of getting to the next exam. Even if it's not the right scroll, we would still be knocking them out of the exam either way. Besides, it'll only take Sasuke-kun two minutes tops to beat Naruto and take his scroll."

"I seem to recall you saying similar words when we met that Genin with the large eyebrows before the first exam," Shino replied sharply.

Ino either didn't hear this or decided to ignore Shino as she and Sasuke began to jump down the tree from branch to branch to the ground, which Naruto followed suit with Hinata close behind. Shino and Shikamaru exchanged exasperated looks to each other before they grudgingly followed their teammates down the tree.

When they both arrived to the large, clear area below them, Sasuke and Naruto seemed to have gone into a stare down with the other. Both of them apparently waiting for the other to make the first move. Shikamaru continued to frown as he waited for the fight to begin…but he couldn't deny that a part of him was actually looking forward to seeing what was going to happen, to see just how far Naruto had actually come during training. But now wasn't the time for that. Shikamaru stopped his mind wandering and decided instead to assess the situation as best as he could incase something went wrong. Better safe than sorry after all…

"Well, dobe," Sasuke said as the two simultaneously took out a kunai from the holsters on their legs, "I hope you've gotten at least a little better since the academy. If you haven't, then this battle won't take long at all."

"Shows how much you know, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted loudly, pointing at his best friend. "You have no idea what we've had to go through already as a team. I'd be careful if I were you, I'm not the same kid that I was back then," he said, crossing his hands together in his trademark jutsu. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

Sasuke readied himself while Naruto suddenly created ten bushins from behind him. Naruto let out a battle yell and pointed at Sasuke, which the clones replied by charging at the Uchiha prodigy. Sasuke couldn't help but smile as each of them charged at him. It looks as though that Naruto hadn't changed at all.

With several hand signs, Sasuke decided that this would be a great opportunity to test out one of his newest jutsus. "Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!" The Uchiha brought his hand up to his mouth as he breathed several small blasts of fire toward each of the Narutos that had been charging him. Caught unaware of then unfamiliar attack, they weren't able to dodge the fireballs, and they disappeared out of existence.

Sasuke turned to see the reaction that Naruto had after seeing his new technique, but was surprised to see that Naruto was only a couple steps away from him with his fist drawn back.

_So, he's gotten faster, _Sasuke thought as he blocked Naruto's first punch and dodged the sweeping kick that the blonde followed up with by jumping backwards. He immediately bounced back at Naruto and the two went into a flurry of fists and kicks.

For the first minute, a grin slowly spread across Sasuke's face, feeling himself gain the advantage over Naruto as time crept by. True, Naruto was better, but the blonde was slowing down, having trouble anticipating Sasuke's movements, and he was beginning to get off balance. This wasn't a surprise to Sasuke. When it came to taijutsu, he was always the one to come up on top. He suddenly stumbled slightly when Naruto suddenly went into a completely different fighting style in the middle of their fight and, for a moment, Sasuke lost his advantage.

Sasuke dodged a side swipe from Naruto and blocked the next strike with his arm. He cringed suddenly when he felt the blow, which he had thought would have been not that powerful, send a sharp, shooting pain go up his arm…

At that moment, he realized what was going on. Naruto was using Jyuuken! After a couple more seconds of fighting, Sasuke realized that this was at the same time an advantage and a disadvantage to him. The bad part was that Sasuke had never gotten into a serious sparring match with Hinata before, so he was unfamiliar with all the moves that went with it and how to counter it. But Sasuke could also find a key advantage from it as well. It was obvious that Naruto was still very rough with the style, which Sasuke could recognize due to the intensely concentrated look that the blonde was wearing. He could just wait for Naruto to make an opening and he could strike then, but that would risk himself to being further injured from the surprisingly effective fighting style…

Sasuke ducked down and made a sweeping kick to try and knock Naruto off his feet, but the whiskered Genin jumped backwards before the kick hit him. Sasuke jumped back as well, and began going through his signature jutsu's seals, but was shocked to see that Naruto had been going through the same ones as well.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" the two rivals shouted simultaneously. Both fireballs slammed into each other and momentarily clashed together in a stalemate. Once again, Naruto had preformed the unexpected in front of Sasuke. To be countered with his own jutsu…it took a mere second for Sasuke to realize that it didn't matter much. It was obvious what the outcome would be. Sasuke had been performing this jutsu since he was eight years old, and Naruto had only learned it during the past couple of months. Sure enough, Sasuke's fireball overpowered Naruto's and the blonde had to jump high out of the way and land on the side of a tree to dodge the flames, though not before leaving both him and his new clothes slightly singed.

_Still, he's definitely more of a challenge than when we were at the academy, _Sasuke mused while he looked back up at Naruto, who was now trying to catch his breath and grinning excitedly from the battle.

"…Impressive," Shino said, looking up at Naruto. "He had not been this powerful when we had left the academy. When I had heard that he had progressed, I hadn't believed that it would be by this much."

Ino glared over at the bug user and darted her eyes back and forth between Sasuke and Naruto. Though she hated to admit it, Shino was definitely right. Naruto was nothing like this back at the academy. He had gotten faster, learned new jutsus, and even seemed to be making smart moves while fighting. It was as if this was a completely different person from the hyperactive, loud child that she had known from the academy. Oh, what was she thinking?!

"…So he's gotten a little bit better since we left the academy, big deal!" Ino yelled proudly. "Sasuke-kun is just warming up. Trust me, we haven't seen anything yet!"

"Good," Shikamaru said, cutting right into Ino and Shino's conversation. "Because Naruto has a couple more tricks up his sleeve also."

"But…you don't think that they'll get carried away, do you?" Hinata asked, apparently worried for both of her friends.

"I don't think so," the Nara said, shaking his head at the Hyuuga girl beside her with a small, reassuring smile. "The two may be pretty hot headed when it comes with each other…but I don't think that they really want to hurt each other."

After hearing Shikamaru's words, Hinata gave a small smile to the lazy genius and nodded back in thanks before turning back to "battle".

Meanwhile, Sasuke was formulating a new plan of attack. He pretty much had to throw everything of what he once knew about Naruto and throw it out the window. With only just seeing him use a couple of his new techniques, Sasuke could already tell that Naruto was now nothing like he was in the academy when it came to fighting, not to mention that he could almost keep up with him.

"Fine then, time to get serious," Sasuke muttered as he finished the last seal of his jutsu. "Let's see if you can dodge this jutsu, Naruto. Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!" Multiple small fireballs shot from Sasuke's mouth once again and toward the high branch that Naruto sat on. Naruto dodged sideways just as three of the fireballs hit the tree he had been stuck on, showering the ground with bark and splinters of wood. Not gibving up, Sasuke continued shooting small fireballs at Naruto as the blonde leaped from tree to tree to dodge the attack, unaware that Sasuke was only luring him closer…

As soon as he knew that he had a clear shot at Naruto, Sasuke jumped up onto the side of the tree behind him and shot himself at the branch that the blonde was on. It was then that Sasuke realized that he had just made a grave mistake. Naruto smiled down at him as he went through three seals that were completely different from what Sasuke had ever seen before.

"Futon: Daitoppa no Jutsu!" Naruto yelled with a mischievous, closed eyed smile to his best friend.

Sasuke was violently propelled backwards as a powerful gust of wind collided with his body. He back flipped in surprised and landed onto the branch of a tree to regain his balance. As soon as he did, he looked up and saw that Naruto had produced a kage bushin and used it to fling himself at Sasuke. He ducked underneath Naruto's high kick and retaliated with a chakra powered punch into the shorter Genin's gut.

For a moment, Sasuke thought that he had won their little match, but nearly fell onto his face when Naruto disappeared into smoke.

"Another Kage Bushin!" Sasuke yelled looking around.

"Gotcha!"

Sasuke suddenly felt a hard kick from behind nail him directly in the center of his back. With a grunt of pain, he straightened himself and bounced off one tree and back to the ground. He winced slightly when he saw that Naruto had started doing a little victory dance from the branch that he was on. He would have been lying if he said that it wasn't a small jab at his pride. To have been fooled by someone so spontaneous and ridiculous was…discomforting.

"It's about time that you learned yourself some decent jutsu, dobe," Sasuke yelled as Naruto ran down the side of the tree and back to the ground. "What was that wind jutsu that you used just now?"

Naruto gave a fox like smile at Sasuke. "It's one of the new jutsu that Kakashi-sensei taught me a couple weeks ago. He said that I had a knack for wind jutsu, so he showed me a few. Thanks for giving me the chance to use one in a fight! I hadn't gotten the chance to try it out for real before!"

"Yeah, well you're welcome. Though another one of those jutsus happen to be mine…"

Naruto rubbed the back of his spiked blonde hair guiltily. "Heheh, you've got me there, Sasuke. But it's come in handy a couple times lately. After I beat you, I might tell you all about it."

"Dream on, dobe," the raven haired boy replied readying himself again.

The two rivals dashed at each other once more, but Sasuke stopped immediately when Shino unexpectedly appeared at the place that the two were going to clash. Naruto didn't end up stopping as gracefully as Sasuke though, since Shino had surprised him so much that he had tripped over his own two feet while running.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Naruto yelled loudly at Shino. "If you really want to fight so bad, wait until I'm done with Sasuke, then I'll take you on!"

"Why are you interrupting?" Sasuke asked, obviously annoyed by his teammates intrusion as well.

"As much as I would love to watch the both of you fight for the next five days," Shino said, looking from Naruto to Sasuke, "it will have to wait. For now, you might want to know that we have a new arrival."

Both Sasuke and Naruto stopped looking angrily at Shino and turned their heads around to try and find the location of the person the Aburame had been talking about.

"Alright, you can come out now," Sasuke called out around him into the forest. "We all know that you are here, so why don't you just show yourself."

A laugh echoed from what seemed like all around them that caused a chill to run up Naruto's spine. "It seems that I have been discovered. It's a shame. I had been so much enjoying the sparing match that the two of you were having."

From across the open area that Naruto and Sasuke had been fighting on, a figure suddenly morphed out from the ground. It was skinny and very tall, even taller than Shino. On top of its head was a circular straw hat that shielded it's face from being seen.

"It's a shame though," the person said again, but this time they could all decipher that the voice belonged to a woman. "After hearing so much of the Uchiha clan and of its genius soul survivor, I had been expecting a little…more. I suppose that only means that you can't base entire truth off of what you hear nowadays," she said, finally lifting her hat to reveal her smooth, slightly pale face.

Naruto suddenly felt an electric shock shoot through his body. "No way," he muttered. It was the same woman that he had sat next to during the first part of the exams. After the test was over, he had thought that he wouldn't need to worry himself about her any longer…

Sasuke seemed to have not been fazed in the slightest by the woman's sudden arrival. He merely sent his usual cold, hard stare that he would give anybody that he didn't know and examined her for only a second. "So you know who I am, huh? Well take my advice…get lost. If you don't, then you'll learn just how powerful I am."

"All the better for me…" she said, pulling out from nowhere a black scroll and holding it out for all of the rookie ninja to see. "I tell you what, if you defeat me, I will give you my scroll. Of course if I win, I take your scroll and you die. Or, you could avoid this entire conflict entirely and just give me both of your scrolls."

The Uchiha let out a loud 'hmph' at the newcomer. "You seem to be pretty cocky for someone who's up against six opponents. There's no way that you'll be able to beat all of us. I probably could beat you on my own."

Naruto turned around from the sound of approaching footsteps and saw Shikamaru, Ino, and Hinata approaching them from behind.

"What's going on?" Shikamaru asked, looking at the woman that stood in front of them. His eyes seemed to have become uncharacteristically focused on her and his hand was hovering above his kunai holster.

"Someone else has decided to show up," Naruto replied, stepping forward so that he was beside Sasuke for a team attack. "Hey, Sasuke. How about we kick her ass, take her scroll, and decide on who gets it after we finish our fight?"

"Sounds good with me," he said preparing to go through some seals. He stopped as Shino wordlessly walked forward and stopped in front of Naruto and Sasuke. The two exchanged curious looks to each other before looking back at the taller Genin.

"You two are tired after your fight," Shino said without looking back at them and raising both of his arms slightly. Immediately, several bugs began pouring out from beneath his sleeves and began to circle around his arms, buzzing threateningly. "I'll take care of this woman. You two just sit back and wait until it's over."

"Fine," Sasuke said shrugging and stepping back to give Shino room. "Though I don't want to wait around all day, just be sure you make it quick."

"I always do."

Shino immediately disappeared and reappeared right beside the woman that had arrived, shocking Naruto with his surprising speed. Pulling back his fist, he aimed a hard punch right at the woman's head and he heard a loud "crack" as his fist connected hard against her skull. Naruto began to feel a little silly after worrying so much about someone that could be defeated so easily, but that thought was immediately tossed away as the woman became nothing more than a pile of mud.

"She used the Kawarimi no Jutsu!" Hinata gasped in alarm. Before she even finished her sentence though, the woman burst out from underneath the ground once again and slashed a kunai across Shino's chest, obviously cutting deep. Ino let out a terrified scream as his body stayed standing and remained motionless and before it began to fall. Before it hit the ground though, it fell apart into hundreds of small, black bugs.

"Wait! Shino was actually _made _of bugs!" Naruto yelled in shock.

"Of course not," Sasuke said hitting the blonde over the side of the head, partly to knock some sense into his rival/best friend, and partly in revenge for kicking him in the back earlier. "That's his Mushi Bushin no Jutsu."

_Which means that Shino is still alive, _Naruto thought, starting to feel a little bit better.

Several kunai and shuriken suddenly rained down from all sides of the forest at the woman and dodged sideways. Shino suddenly appeared again beside her and attempted a powerful kick, but the woman maneuvered around him as though she was made of rubber and jumped back again. After putting some distance between her and Shino, she stood up straight and smiled cruelly. Shino did the same, though he did not make any movement to defend or attack.

"You lose."

A sudden clicking and small chirping sound filled the air and continued to get louder and louder by the second. Everyone looked up simultaneously as they saw a mountain of bugs of all shapes and gather on the high branches above the Kusa nin.

"This battle is over," Shino said definitely. "If my bugs don't kill you by draining you of all of your blood, they will drain too much of your chakra for you to defend yourself. It would be wise if you just surrender right now and hand over your Earth Scroll."

The woman smiled widely and licked her lips with a purple, unnaturally long tongue. "So, you are one of the Aburame clan. You definitely have learned your family's jutsu well. You are mistaken though if you think that I will just stand here and wait for your bugs to rain down on me." The woman seemed to make the motion to run straight at Shino, but then found that she couldn't move. Looking down, she saw her feet covered in web with spiders crawling all around them.

"This forest harbors many types of insects," Shino said as the woman looked back up at him curiously. "Those spiders at your feet only exist here in the Forest of Death. Their web is as hard and durable as steel. I can tell that you are much more powerful than probably most of the Genin in this exam…" he said placing his hands inside of the pockets of his coat and looking up at the bugs above them. "But I'm not going to wait long enough to see just how strong you really are." As soon as Shino was done with his last sentence, the bugs fell off their branches and down toward the woman.

The woman looked up at the bugs though and smiled wickedly while going through several hand seals. "Very clever. But I'm afraid that it will take much more than a couple of insects to defeat me. Katon: Kabe Inferuno no Jutsu!" The ground around the woman suddenly burst into flames, completely wrapping around the Kusa nin and completely encased her. Like a balloon, it expanded and surrounded her entirely, the flames completely blocking from view. Right as the bugs hit the wall of fire, it began spinning rapidly. If the bugs didn't automatically burn up in the blaze, they bounced off and simmered to death onto the ground.

"What is…?" Shino muttered, gritting his teeth.

"That jutsu!" Hinata gasped with her mouth dropping agape. "It's just like my family's Hakkesho Kaiten!" Naruto nodded, realizing that she was right. Hizashi had only demonstrated the Hyuuga's ultimate defense technique once for him to familiarize himself with the Hyuuga's family jutsu, but there was no doubt that the two techniques were nearly exactly the same. And by the looks of this jutsu, it almost looked even more devastating than the Hyuuga's prized technique.

Shino grunted angrily as he watched the fire continue to decimate all of the bugs that he had called from the forest. Finally, the jutsu ended. Shino suddenly realized his mistake. All at once, the flames disappeared and there was no sign of the woman.

A hard blow suddenly hit him in the stomach without warning, knocking the wind out of him, causing Shino to stagger back. After recovering from the blow, he looked up and saw the woman standing mere feet away from him with a smug smile etched across her face.

_Incredible, _Shino thought, barely able to dodge the next punch. _I didn't even see her get close to me until she had already hit me. What unimaginable speed… _His thoughts were interrupted though as the woman got through his defenses again and kicked him hard in the side. While still skidding to a halt from the blow, the woman appeared beside him again and he was suddenly punched again, but this time in the face and flew back at his fellow Konoha shinobi.

"Shino!" Ino yelled, running next to her teammate along with Sasuke and Team Seven. The bug user let out a pained grunt before sitting up and shaking his head. His sunglasses had also been knocked off from the last punch that the woman had thrown, revealing his hazel eyes.

"Hey, you alright?" Sasuke asked, kneeling down to eyelevel with Shino.

"Yeah…" Shino said quietly while shakily standing to his feet. "But this woman…is much more powerful than I had originally expected." He turned back to Sasuke, his eyes intense with seriousness. "We should retreat. Though we may be able to defeat her if all six of us work together, the chances are that one of us could become seriously injured during the fight. Perhaps even worse. We should escape now while we have the chance."

Sasuke glared up at Shino, still kneeling down on the ground.

"Yeah right," Sasuke said, closing his eyes. "There's no way that I'm running away…You got it?" he said, looking just as intensely back at his teammate. "Naruto, back me up. We take her on together when I give the signal."

"You got it," Naruto said, gripping his kunai.

The woman laughed softly as she watched Naruto and Sasuke prepare to attack. "It seems you have decided to take the less wise course of action. Very well, let's see just how powerful each of you are…" The woman said, going through three quick seals.

"Hey, wait a second!" Naruto yelled, immediately recognizing the jutsu. That's my-"

"Futon: Daitoppa no Jutsu!" the woman yelled.

The entire area felt as if a tornado had just hit it. Naruto had to bend down low to the ground to avoid being thrown off his feet by the wind. Ino, the lightest of all of them, actually had to hold on to Shikamaru to avoid being completely blown away.

_That's the same jutsu that I used on Sasuke, _Naruto thought, placing both hands on the ground to stable himself. _All I can do is make a small wind to knock people off balance. But she…she's amazing with it!_

The wind stopped and each of the Genin were breathing deeply, deeply shocked by what they had just endured.

"Well then. Now that you know exactly what you've gotten into…shall we resume our battle?" she asked darkly, pulling down her left eyelid slightly.

Naruto suddenly felt his body stiffen. Turning his eyes to the others, he saw that they too had frozen as well. They had been trapped!

Darkness suddenly enveloped him. Before he could realize what had happened to him, he watched himself get stabbed in the heart by the woman's kunai, his blood pouring out of his body as though if a dam had just been destroyed. Then Sasuke got a kunai directly between his eyes. Next followed Shino, Ino, and Shikamaru, their bodies were ripped to shreds by something that was too fast to be seen, their bodies no longer recognizable. Last came Hinata. Here purple eyes shone with fear as the woman appeared in front of her with a long kantana in her hand. In a flash, the sword was impaled into Hinata's chest and she sunk to her knees, her eyes completely devoid of life.

_No! Not again!_

Naruto shot open with a start, checking himself over to make sure he was alright. He tried to turn around, but suddenly realized that he had frozen stiff by whatever the woman had done. Looking to his side, he saw the rest of his friends in no better shape than he was. They were shaking and obviously terrified…but they were alive.

_It…was a vision? Some kind of genjutsu? _Naruto asked himself. Ino had dropped to her knees, looking completely devastated from what she had just gone through. Even Sasuke seemed shaken up by the vision, gritting his teeth tightly in an attempt to move his body.

_This thing, _Naruto thought, his cerulean eyes wide with fear. _This isn't a person! It's...it's a demon!_

* * *

_Okay…I think that may be enough for now. I know, kind of a sudden stop, but it's my decision and I so do love cliff hangers (as long as I'm the one making them). So anyways, thanks for reading and please, please leave a review. It felt as if I got hardly any last chapter…so anyways, see you all later._

_But before I leave, it's obvious that Naruto and the rest of the Konoha Genin are going to have to step it up a notch to defeat this new foe. So if you have any ideas for new jutsus, team attacks, or anything else, put it in a review or send me a PM and I'll see if I can fit it into the next chapter. I have one team attack idea, but that may not be enough...thanks everyone._

_GAZ_

_Jutsu List:  
__  
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough  
__Fūton: Daitoppa no Jutsu  
__This jutsu sends out a powerful explosion of wind from the user's location, easily leveling anything in its path. A variation of this technique involves a smaller blast of wind that gets ignited with flame, making it stronger and more damaging to the target._

_Fire Release: Wall Inferno  
__Katon: Kabe Inferuno no Jutsu  
__A circular wall of fire surrounds the user and is used to deflect whatever attacks the user or incinerates it on impact._ **(Original Jutsu by me)**

_Fire Release: Phoenix Immortal Fire Technique  
Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu  
This jutsu sends multiple balls of fire at a target. It is also possible to hide shurikens within the fireballs, creating an unexpected secondary surprise attack. For the most part, however, this jutsu is used as a distraction._


	17. To Be Strong

_Hello everyone! That's right, I'm finally back. And I'm here with (I think at least) one hell of a chapter…though that may be in a bad way though. I repeat again to anybody, do not read this fic if you do not like reading about bad stuff happening to good people. There will be people who do not like this chatper. So you have your warning, don't say that I didn't warn you._

_Anyways, I do hope you enjoy this chapter. There's a reason that it took so long to come out. Oh, and one more thing. I've decided to give one character I hadn't really considered before a much bigger part in my fic than originally planned. I think most of you will be happy with it though. Anyways, again, enjoy the chapter._

_Oh, there will be some minor ooc-ness, just as a warning. Not bad though and very brief._

_Guess what everyone…I still don't own Naruto. I know. You're all shocked._

* * *

With one last mighty leap, Neji finally stopped on a high branch and landed next to Lee. His green clad teammate had finally gotten tired of running, though it took him more than an hour and a half to do so. The proud Hyuuga had to admit, when it came to perseverance and endurance, Lee had him beat. Though he also occasionally added stupidity along with the list, but it was usually just when he was having one of his 'Lee and Gai' moments.

With a few quick seals, he was able to activate his Byakugan to look behind and check how far behind his second teammate was. Not even a second later, Tenten burst out of the trees and landed on a branch above where Lee had stopped, breathing deeply. He couldn't blame her, sometimes Lee forgot that his other two teammates weren't as fast as he was.

In complete silence, the three of them sat down on their branches began to rest. There was no doubt in any of their minds that this was undoubtedly an uncomfortable and awkward situation, but the three of them had relatively become used to it after being on the same team for such long a long time.

Actually, now that Neji thought about it, the list of things that tied the three of them together was few and far between outside of the fact that they were all teammates.

Lee, for example, most of the time didn't take into account that his other two teammates didn't have either the endurance or the determination that he possessed. He constantly suggested to their sensei that the three of them would do some training exercise that would both make his teammates look ridiculous and, more often than not, possibly put their lives at risk. The fact that their own sensei saw Lee as more of a son than an actual student didn't help at all either, always thinking that his "adorable student" could do no wrong.

His other teammate, Tenten, though undoubtedly strong, was not as up to speed as he and Lee were. Admittedly, sometimes she was left behind on things, and she seemed to have grown a slight grudge against both her teammates and sensei. Though she usually appeared to be happy to anybody that would pass by, Neji had learned ways to tell what someone was really thinking and feeling. Every time Gai-sensei complemented Lee on a job well done, her body would stiffen a little and her eyes would dart over to Lee momentarily before regaining her composure, showing jealously of the extra attention. And every time he, Neji, beat her in sparing match, her hands would grip into fists and she shut her eyes tight before she stood back up, showing frustration. It didn't stop there. Yearning, sadness, hope, anger, and so many more emotions always arose in TenTen everyday. And despite the way she acts, she seems to be intent on staying that way for a long while.

And last came he, Hyuuga Neji. To him, his teammates hardly meant anything to him. The moment that he becomes a Chunin, which was most likely in the not so far distant future and both of his teammates knew it, the only tie that bound him and them together would be severed. He knew where his worries should lie, and that was his clan and the responsibilities that he would inherit the moment that it started. He doubted that he would even see his teammates that much in a couple of years. After all, his own father rarely left the main house hold unless on dates and events that was worthy of his presence. Neji knew that in a couple of years, he would be the same way.

Neji turned his head toward Lee and saw that the green clad Genin seemed to have been deep in thought. He was staring directly at the tree and his eyes seemed to have become far off.

"It would be unwise to loose focus here, Lee," Neji said, snapping his teammate out of thought. "We need to be on constant alert for any enemies nearby. What's you're problem?"

Lee flinched slightly at Neji's scolding, but turned to face his "arch rival" head on, just like always. "Sorry, Neji. I am just worried slightly about how the other Genin from our village are doing. Like Naruto-kun, I hope he is alright."

Neji sniffed loudly at this and turned his head.

"Please, don't waste your time worrying about any of them. If they don't make it through this test, then it was decided long before they even thought of taking this exam. Everyone's destiny is determined by their births, and they separate into two categories. The ones that are superior, and the ones that are inferior, doomed to always stand in the shadow of those above them."

Lee tensed up at the obvious insult towards him, but stood his ground against Neji. TenTen looked over at Lee in slight pity, but stayed silent.

"How can you say that?" Lee said, holding his fist up against the tree to try and control his shaking body. "Can you honestly say that you don't care what happens to Naruto-kun?! And what about Hinata-san? Both of them are in your clan, one of them possesses the same blood that runs through your veins, and yet all you can do is talk down about them!"

"You know nothing about the Hyuuga clan, Lee," Neji said, standing to his feet. "They are of the branch family and I am of the head family, and that is how it will be till the day we three go to our graves. If anything, they should be worrying about me, that is the duty of the branch family of the Hyuuga clan. Besides, it wouldn't matter anyways if we would lose a couple members of the branch family."

Neji quickly dodged the high kick that Lee tried to deliver to his head, and activated his Byakugan with two hand seals. He faced Lee in his Jyuuken stance with Lee breathing deeply and glaring at the Hyuuga prodigy in fury.

"How can you…say such a thing about your own family …?" Lee growled furiously, though Neji did not let down his guard or make any kind of response at all.

Tenten finally rose from where she sat on her branch and placed a hand on Lee's shoulder, causing him to stiffen slightly and look over at her.

"Just let it go, Lee," she said, looking serious. "It won't do any good if we fight each other. Besides, even if you do fight Neji, you know what will happen. I'm sorry but…Neji just can't be beaten. Just let it go."

"You should listen to her," Neji said, finally lowering his guard. "You already know it's true."

Lee looked once at Tenten and then back to Neji.

"If that is how you feel, then I swear that I will show you that someone can become a splendid shinobi even if they once were not! I will show you that any ninja can become great! I will show the entire world!" Lee yelled with a raised fist.

"This coming from a 'shinobi' that can't even perform the most basic forms of Ninjutsu or Genjutsu," Neji said with a sneer.

For another moment, the three teammates exchanged heated glares at each other, none of them talking. Finally, Neji turned his head and pulled out a kunai casually.

"We're wasting time arguing. Just like we planned, we're going to split up. Whether or not we find a scroll, we meet up again here in five hours," he said, throwing his kunai above him so it stuck onto the branch above his head.

"Fine with me," Lee said, not wasting time with jumping into the forest. Tenten looked once at the direction that Lee ran off to, almost looking as if she was going to follow. After sighing once in defeat, she sent one last glare over at Neji and then jumped off into the opposite direction of Lee.

Neji shook his head, frustrated that he had wasted so much time. Finally, he jumped into the trees, away from TenTen and Lee. He couldn't help but think that the situation was pretty poetic. Each of them, traveling in three completely different directions, and in more ways than one.

* * *

Off in another part of the forest, Naruto struggled with all of his might to break free from whatever jutsu the woman had put on him. He gripped his fist and clenched his teeth as hard as he could, trying to force himself to move, but no matter how hard he tried, his body refused to cooperate. He wasn't the worst off though, Ino seemed to have been the one to take it the worse. Her body was shaking uncontrollably and her eyes had become huge in fright. Unfortunately he wouldn't be surprise if he looked just as bad as her at that very moment.

"This…is bad…" Shino grunted from behind him, though Naruto couldn't seem to move his head to the right to be able to see him. Naruto was going to reply back, but found that he wasn't even able to talk! He supposed that he had to give Shino some props for being able to, but talking isn't going to save them from this demon.

_Move, dammit! _Naruto shouted within his mind. Slowly, he turned his head around, but only a couple of inches, and looked at the rest of his teammates. He found, surprisingly, that Hinata was probably more in control than anybody else. She was slowly rising off of the ground from where she had fallen. She was nearly back at full height and her hand was slowly going to her kunai pouch. He saw that Sasuke was also attempting the same thing, though at a slightly slower pace than Hinata.

_Come on, Sasuke, Hinata-chan! You can do it!_

"A kunai is no good if the one wielding it has no movement." Naruto's eyes shot back to the demon that was approaching them, her hand dropping down to her weapon's pouch that was at her waist, drawing out a single kunai and raising it so that it pointed at the group. "What a shame. After hearing so much about how promising the Konoha Genin were this year, I suppose that I expected a little too much. It can't be helped, I guess. The only question now is who will die first?" She slowly pointed the kunai to every one of the Genin, pausing for a couple of seconds on each of them.

"No…" Naruto mumbled, feeling himself gaining more and more strength. He couldn't die here…not like this. Just a little while longer…a little while longer…

The demon smiled, finally pointing her kunai at Shino. "I suppose I'll start with the Aburame first. After all, I know how much their clan hates to leave a battle unfinished…."

With a flick of her wrist, the kunai that was in her hand flew forward at an almost lazy speed, drawing close as if in slow motion…

"No…" Naruto mumbled, able to do nothing but watch the kunai fly to where Shino stood. In another second, his vision that he had only moments before was about to become a reality.

Suddenly, the kunai collided with another and they both fell down with a clang. Naruto turned his head as quickly as possible and saw Hinata, behind him, breathing deeply. Looking down at her hand, Naruto saw blood slowly dripping down it.

_She overcame the jutsu with pain…_Naruto thought with a smile, not able to not feel proud of Hinata at the moment. A second later, he heard Sasuke let out a pained yelp. The blonde Genin looked back at his best friend and saw a kunai, stabbed into his leg. For a second, Sasuke let his eyes remain closed with his face twisted in silent pain. Then, he opened his eyes fiercely and jumped in front of the group.

"Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!" The fireballs that erupted from his mouth flew at the demon, which she dodged with relatively ease. Not letting up, Sasuke continued firing fireballs at the demon, pushing her back farther and farther.

"Hinata, break everyone out of whatever it was she did! Quick!" Sasuke yelled, before continuing to push back the demon with his fireballs.

With a nod, Hinata closed her eyes in concentration and went through a couple seals. "Raiton: Dendou Touza no Jutsu!" Opening her purple eyes wide, Hinata slammed her hand on the ground as hard as she could.

Naruto's body stiffened unexpectedly as a sharp pain shot up from his legs and through his entire body. A second later, Naruto could feel his senses coming back to him. He could move his arms, legs, everything! Hinata did it!

"Thanks, Hinata-chan!" Naruto said giving the blue haired girl a thumbs up and making her blush.

"We have to get out here," Shikamaru interrupted, getting beside Naruto. "Sasuke won't be able to distract that woman for long. We need a diversion," he said, looking straight at Naruto.

For the first time ever it seemed like to Shikamaru, Naruto nodded back to him seriously, already forming one of his trademark hand seal. "Don't worry, Shikamaru, distraction is my middle name. Here goes, let's see if she's ready for this! Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

In a flash, there were suddenly a hundred Narutos around the forest, all of them glaring down at the demon. Shikamaru smiled, knowing that Naruto had been waiting a very long time to use this jutsu again. He hadn't used it (so he said) since his little tussle with Mizuki. Shikamaru just wished that he would have done it earlier. But hey, better late than never he guessed.

"No way," Ino whispered under her breath, looking around at all the Bunshins around her. "Naruto can actually make this many clones?! Since when? What happened?"

"Please forgive me for saying, but I think now may not be the best time to share stories, Ino," Shino said looking over at his female teammate seriously. He stopped though and also took one small moment to look around at all the blonde headed black clad ninjas that were around him. It was amazing, to say the least. For a Genin to actually perform such a technique so effectively…not even Sasuke could even dream of doing this. Even the demon they were facing seemed to have become a little wary by all of the clones that were around her. Then again, Shino thought, who wouldn't?

"Alright, we have our distraction, now let's get the hell out of here," Sasuke said, rejoining their group.

"For once, I agree with Sasuke," Naruto said back.

As one, the six Genin jumped into the tree branches and darted away with Naruto's clones blocking the demon from following them. The ones closest to her though looked at her in confusion though. She was…smiling? As if entertained by how they were running. It sent a chill up the Bunshin's spines.

"I suppose that I must give you credit, to produce so many Kage Bunshins at such a young age is indeed remarkable. To speak truthfully, I've never heard of such a thing happening in all of my life. Tell me…" she said, looking at the clone that was directly in front of her and biting her left thumb until blood began to slowly trickle down it, "what is your name?"

The clones smiled cockily and raised a fist at the demon. "My name," it said firmly, "is Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm going to be the future Hokage of this village. And there's no way that I'm going to let you defeat me here!"

"Tough words from a Bunshin that had just been abandoned by its creator to retreat instead of fight," the demon replied, pulling up her right sleeve and slowly spreading the blood from her thumb down her arm, which seemed to have a strange tattoo on it that Naruto was not able to understand or recognize. "But that is no matter, I'll be meeting the true you in only a moment."

"That's only if you can get through us!" all of the Narutos at once yelled simultaneously, and jumping at their enemy.

"If you insist," the demon smiled, forming a couple hand seals in quick succession.

* * *

"Come on, move it!" Sasuke yelled who was the fastest of the Genin there and at the front of everyone.

"What do you think we're doing?" Naruto yelled up to him, who was taking up the rear along with Shino, who ran beside him at the same speed. "We're all going as fast as we can, do you think we want to go back?"

"Do you think that those Bunshins will be able to hold her off?" Hinata asked while looking behind. Each of them looked over at Naruto, silently asking him the same question. He was about to reply, but suddenly a hundred different thoughts and memories flew through his mind, with each of them ending with the same thing, him dying.

"Apparently not," Naruto said, looking back behind him. He could already see a light line of smoke flowing through the trees, no doubt all that was left of his clones. "All of them were just destroyed…and she did it in one single move," he said, searching through the memories that his Bunshins had sent back to him after they had been destroyed.

"You're kidding me! How is that even possible?" Ino asked while running along side Shikamaru. "You made probably more than a hundred clones back there, and you're telling us that she took them all out with one move?"

"I know, I can't even believe it…," Naruto said, closing his eyes to try and think. "But whatever she did, she made something big come out… We need to get out of here, and fast."

No sooner did Naruto open his eyes than the woman appeared out of nowhere on the next branch they were about to jump to.

"Shit!" Naruto yelled, flipping over his branch to make sure that he stopped in time and not run straight into her. He looked over at her, seeing her dark, almost snake like eyes staring at each of them one by one.

"Damn it, she's fast," Sasuke said, putting up his guard immediately.

The demon took a step forward slowly, making the three other Genin take a step back on their branches, on their guard. Naruto's eyes began to dart around the area, trying to find a way out. They could try and go back, but what if that thing that she made was still there? Trying to get past her probably wouldn't work either. Maybe if they…

"You can't escape me," she said suddenly, almost as if she had known exactly what Naruto had been thinking at that moment. "You don't seem to understand. No matter where you run…" The demon suddenly disappeared and reappeared on the branch above them. The Genin only barely dodged the ten kunai that were thrown at them and land safely on a nearby branch. By the time the six of them look up to where she had been, she had once again disappeared. Before anybody could do anything else, Ino let out a scream as she was kicked squarely in the stomach and flew backwards to collide into Sasuke. Naruto turned back, beginning the required seals for his fire jutsu, but she had once again disappeared.

"No matter where you hide…"

The large tree branch that Shikamaru and Shino had been standing on shattered as the demon burst out of it and knocked both of them back with two simultaneous punches to the side of their heads. Shikamaru landed a little farther down the tree on a lower branch, but Shino's head came into hard contact with another tree, causing some of the bark to fall off and down to the ground far below.

Naruto and Hinata stood beside each other firmly, facing their enemy with Naruto in a Taijutsu stance and Hinata in Jyuuken, though fear still shone in both of their eyes. Naruto looked straight into the demon's eyes and couldn't help but think back to Zabuza, how the two's eyes seemed to have been so much alike. This time though, the fear was much greater than it had ever been when they were fighting Zabuza. Back then, Kakashi-sensei had been around to help and protect them. Now, they were on their own.

"I'll always find you."

Naruto and Hinata's eyes shot open wide, hearing the voice behind them. The two were simultaneously lifted up into the air by their necks, the demon keeping them at arms length away to avoid being hit if they struggled. Naruto looked behind him as best as he could to try and see their strangler. How had she gotten behind them so fast?! Not even Kakashi could have moved _that _fast. This person…this thing just couldn't be human.

"Leave them alone!" Sasuke yelled, running at the demon in a dead sprint toward her. The demon idly threw Hinata at Sasuke who bowled the Uchiha over and both fell down a couple branches down the tree before they finally stopped.

Naruto gripped the hand that was around his neck, desperately trying to loosen the firm hold that continued to strangle him. This was bad, really bad. She was _toying _with them. It was obvious that she was hardly even trying. It made Naruto's blood boil…it almost seemed like she didn't even care about their scrolls. She had plenty of chances to get them, but she was hurting him and his friends just for the hell of it…

The demon looked over at the blonde that it held in its grip, raising its eyebrows in interest. The slightest bit of red chakra had started to flow off of Naruto, dripping off of him almost like water, or lava. Even with all the demon had gone through in its life, she had never felt something like this before. Not since…

"I see…" the demon said, turning its arm around so that it could look straight into Naruto's eyes. They had turned blood red, and his whiskers had become feral and ragged. Naruto tried to slash his hand across the demon's face, but she caught it with her free hand and examined the transformed hand, which looked more like the clawed paw of a wild animal than from any normal human being.

"So, at long last I have met the famed Jinchuuriki who has the Kyuubi locked inside of him," it said in a whisper, so that only Naruto could hear him. The blonde's eyes widened in surprise and the demon replied with anther wide smile. "Yes, what an interesting turn of events…"

The demon suddenly dropped Naruto, with him landing right on his ass. He didn't stay there long though. As quickly as he could, he jumped to his feet to put some distance between him and who, or what, ever this was that was attacking them.

Naruto suddenly realized why he had been dropped. Shikamaru stood behind the demon, his arm slightly scratched up from sliding on the bark after he was hit, but he appeared to be fine. At least, he was fine enough to trap their enemy in his patented Kagemane no Jutsu.

"A Nara, huh?" the demon said, looking over its shoulder slightly to get a look at Shikamaru out of the corner of its eye. "You waited for me to let down my guard to attack and trap me… Very interesting indeed."

"What's interesting," Shikamaru said standing up straight, surprised that his opponent wasn't putting up any fight to try and brake free of his jutsu, "is how you seem to know so much about our village and its clans. Just who are you really? Have you spent time in Konoha in the past? Were you a spy or something?"

The demon chuckled, closing its eyes and looking around at the Genin, who had only just started to recover from its last attack. It looked back one last time at Shikamaru, almost as if it was in respect of its opponent's intelligence. "Your eyes reflect the intelligence that is passed down through the blood of your clan. Unfortunately though, you seem to have overlooked one slight detail…you don't know the full extents of my abilities."

A loud hiss suddenly sounded above them. At the same time, Naruto, Shikamaru, and because of Shikamaru's jutsu the demon also, at what had made the noise. Naruto's mouth dropped open in shock. The largest snake that he had ever seen in his life sat in the branches of the tree above them. Hell, big didn't even describe it! Its head's width was about as tall as he was and was probably twice as long. It took three trees just for it to wrap around and stay on the same level as they were. No wonder his clones were defeated so quickly.

"Feeding time…" the woman said with a smile.

As quick as death, the snake lashed out at where Shikamaru stood, just barely giving the Nara enough time to dodge the gigantic reptile. Unfortunately, this dodge caused him to lose his concentration on his shadow technique, and the demon calmly jumped onto the head of the snake as if she did it everyday. This didn't make the snake let up anymore. The snake next decided to make a dart at the recently recovered Shino. It was perhaps pure reflex alone that saved the Genin.

Naruto jumped out of the way of the snake's tail and turned around just in time to see what happened next. Without even looking behind it this time, the snake lashed its tail out and hit Shikamaru squarely in the chest, making him collide hard into a tree. The genius' eyes bugged out for a second in pain, and then they closed and he began to fall, completely unconscious.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto yelled beginning to dart after his teammate. He stopped suddenly when the snake's giant head appeared right where he was about to jump and had to change directions to dodge it…away from Shikamaru. With one last glance over his shoulder, he saw the Nara fall through the branches and disappear from sight toward the forest floor.

"Shikamaru…" Naruto whispered, clutching his head in dismay. He fell to his knees, closing his eyes tightly to try and keep tears from welling up into his eyes. It was the Land of Waves all over again…that time, he couldn't protect Hinata. And now, it was Shikamaru. He wasn't strong enough…again…

The anger inside of Naruto suddenly fueled to an all time high. With a roar, he ran out from behind his tree where he was hiding and rushed at the demon, pulling back his fist for the most powerful punch he could muster. Unfortunately, the attack seemed to have been expected. The demon's tongue lashed out and wrapped around Naruto's body, stopping him immediately. Spinning its entire body around, it flung Naruto away and straight at another tree. With one last curse, Naruto closed his eyes and prepared to have his body get crushed by the tree behind him.

To his shock, Naruto felt someone grab hold of his body and begin to dart away, putting distance between them and the demon. Opening his eyes again, he saw himself slung over Sasuke's shoulder and darting behind a tree for cover.

"Let go of me!" Naruto growled, trying to break free of Sasuke's grip when the raven haired prodigy finally stopped.

"Get a hold of yourself!" Sasuke yelled back, restraining the blonde as best as he could. "You won't be able to do anything with how mad you are now. You're lucky you didn't end up dead after that shit you just pulled back there. Calm down. The best thing we can do for right now is to hide."

"Yeah, sense that worked so well the last time," Naruto spat back, finally able to break free of Sasuke, but not moving from his spot. The blonde knew better. They couldn't hide forever. It was only a matter of time before one of them were found or made a wrong move that resulted in them becoming snake food.

"This is impossible," Sasuke whispered while breathing deeply, clutching his kunai tightly in frustration. "No matter what we do to try and escape her, she just shows up again and comes back with an even more powerful jutsu up her sleeve. How the hell are we supposed to get out of here?"

Naruto could feel his heart begin to race. What if Sasuke was right? What if this was impossible? What if there was nothing they could do and that they were only delaying the inevitable? And where the heck was everyone else? Hinata, Shino and Ino? He had lost track of them in all of the confusion. What if they were hurt…or worse?

"I had always heard that the great shinobi of Konohagakure were renowned for their courage in the face of danger. It seems that this day just seems to have one disappointment after another. All you seem to do is cower in fear," the woman's voice rang out in the forest as its giant snake slithered up a tree to get a better look around.

Naruto stopped. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and attempted to calm himself down. Getting all worked up wasn't going to fix anything for him…it wasn't going to change anything that had already happened. He needed to calm down. Just like Shikamaru would have. Wasn't that why Kakashi-sensei said that the usual lazy ninja would be a good leader? Naruto just needed to calm down and think. That was how Shikamaru always got through everything…except for now of course. With another deep breath, he began to think. What Sasuke had said was true. Everything that they had tried to do to escape had failed. And if escape was impossible, that meant…

"We have to fight," Naruto said, standing up at full height with a renewed determination in his eyes.

"What are you talking about, dobe?" Sasuke whispered, still kneeling down in the branches. "What do you think is going to happen if we fight her? You saw what she did to Shikamaru, and we'll be next if you go out there! The best thing to do now is to-"

"You follow the rules too much, Sasuke," Naruto interrupted, tightening his headband around his forehead and turning around so that his back was facing his best friend. "Maybe you're right, maybe it is pointless. But there's no way that I'm going to allow everything she's done go unpunished." Sasuke had suddenly gone quite, looking up at the first friend he had ever had. Where the heck had this come from?

"Besides," Naruto continued, "I've already come too far now to just give up. And most of all…" He trailed off, looking one last time over his shoulder to Sasuke. "I've failed protecting my friends too many times. This time, I promise I won't fail."

Naruto picked up the kunai that was beside his knee and stood up looking more determined than ever. "If there is one thing that I have learned with my team that I will take on with me for the rest of my life, it's this. 'Those who don't follow the rules are trash…but those who abandon their friends are even worse than trash!'"

With that, Naruto jumped out from behind his tree and ran up his tree so that he was looking across at the demon. The snake's head that the demon was on slowly turned in Naruto's direction, looking straight at him, along with its master who sat atop its brown, scaly head.

"So it seems that someone has finally decided come out to play," the demon said smoothly. "Though, I wouldn't be surprised if you just ended up running away again after two minutes."

"Well you don't have to worry," Naruto yelled as loud as he could while pointing straight at the woman across from him, "because I'm not running away anymore! All this time, I haven't been sure of myself, worried that I wouldn't be good enough to take this exam. Well now I don't even care anymore!"

For the first time since her arrival, the demon stayed silent. Her smile had completely disappeared, and her cold, black eyes dug into Naruto. It almost seemed that she was examining him it seemed in a new light.

"From now on, I'm not going to run away!" Naruto went on, putting his hand into a fist and gripping it as tight as he could and holding it up to his face. "I'm going to fight for everyone! I've always talked about protecting everyone with all my heart…well now I'm going to show everyone that I wasn't lying!"

Almost as if the snake could no longer stand waiting for its meal any longer it darted at Naruto with its fangs barred and its mouth opened at full length. Putting as much chakra as he could into his feet, Naruto jumped into the air, looking as if he was hovering above the snake's head.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto yelled. Naruto was suddenly surrounded with even more bunshins than ever, freefalling down at the demon. "Let's see you dodge this!" they yelled together, all of them throwing shuriken at the same time, raining down onto the snake and its rider. The enormous snake let out a loud bellow that sounded more like a roar than a hiss and fell down the tree, completely covered in shuriken and making a thunderous crash as it hit the bottom.

Naruto and his clones looked around the forest. They all knew that there was no way their opponent had been defeated that easily with barely any resistance at all. Not to mention that not one of them had seen her fall in the first place.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

Half of Naruto's clones were suddenly destroyed all at once by the largest fireball Naruto had ever seen in his life. In the center of all of them, the demon appeared almost as if out of thin air and roundhouse kicked several of them at once, destroying even more of Naruto's clones almost effortlessly.

_I'm not going to lose here!_ Naruto thought, once again conjuring more kage bunshins. All at once, all of the clones jumped together at their enemy and swarmed her. Again with a small smile, the demon blocked each and every one of their attacks while spinning around like a top, defending herself it seemed at all sides at once.

"Take this!" three clones yelled as the group surrounding the woman broke apart and throwing three kunai at once each. With only a few twists of her body, the demon dodged each of them smoothly and got down again into a fighting stance, ready for the next attack.

The demon gasped in surprise as the kunai that were stuck into the branch that she had been standing on transformed into Narutos and swarmed her from all sides, grabbing her by the back, legs, and arms.

"Weren't expecting that, were you?" the Bunshin on her back said, restraining as best he could but also moving his black shirt down enough to show part of his chest to her. The demon's eyes widened suddenly in mild fear. The kid had attached paper bombs to his clones!

"Now I'm going to send you back to hell where you belong," the original Naruto yelled, jumping in front of the demon and going through four new hand seals and gripped his fist together as a swirling blue green aura surrounded it. "Futon: Oshi Heki no Jutsu!"

Naruto's fist collided into the demon's stomach. At first, it seemed nothing more than just a regular punch, but then something changed. The blue green swirling aura began to expand and the demon felt as though his stomach was being torn at by small daggers. Finally, the swirling wind popped like a balloon, and she was thrown off of the branch with it gripping its teeth together in pain sense the patch of wind kept pushing her back and continued to rip at her body.

"We aren't done yet," the clone growled, holding on as tight as he could as he began to feel the paper bomb on his chest begin to sizzle with heat. All at once, each of the clones exploded together while still in mid air, shaking the entire forest with the explosion. Out of the smoke that came from both the clone's destruction and the explosion itself, a shapeless figure dropped out of it and fell to the ground, stopping on a low branch.

Still standing from where he had punched the demon with his new jutsu, Naruto stood alone, breathing deeply with his eyes fixated on the spot where his opponent had just stood. But beside how exhausted he felt now, he couldn't help but feel accomplished. He had been able to beat her and save his friends…though he had to admit that he had no idea where most of them were.

"I beat her, Shikamaru," Naruto said, looking up through the tree branches and to the clouds beyond them, thinking about his teammate that he had seen fall. It would have been a miracle if he survived, and Naruto thought that he might have run out of miracles in his lifetime… While he was thinking, he didn't notice the figure that was morphing out from the trunk of the tree behind him with a kunai in his hand.

The only thing that warned Naruto about the coming attack was the soft breathing behind him. Naruto's head spun around and saw the demon right behind him, not looking happy in the least. Without even saying a word, she silently pulled back her kunai and began to thrust it at the blonde. Naruto's eyes widened, realizing that he could do nothing to stop her attack.

The demon was suddenly knocked back off the tree again by an unexpected kick straight to its head. Spinning her entire body and landing on the side of the tree, it looked back up at her attacker and glared a look that would freeze any normal man down to their soul. But it had accomplished the first phase of its mission. There before her was Uchiha Sasuke, ready to fight.

"So, you've finally decided to join your friend," the demon said to Sasuke.

The Uchiha prodigy did not answer. He was totally at a loss of what he was doing at that moment. This went against everything that he had ever believed growing up, ever since his clan had been massacred by his own brother. He had sworn to survive at all costs, to not allow himself to die so that he could someday kill his brother, Itachi. But for one instant, when he saw Naruto in danger mere seconds from death, he had forgotten completely about his older brother, his goal to avenge his family, his whole reason of living. All that he knew was that his friend was in trouble, and he needed it.

_But why? _Sasuke's arms dropped to their sides, the question repeating in his mind over and over again like an echo. Was it that Naruto's speech from earlier actually struck something that he had been buried inside of him ever since his childhood? Sasuke found it hard to believe, but also found it hard to believe in anything at this point.

"Ever since that day…" he whispered, his raven hair covering his face from view. "That day that my family was taken from me, I knew nothing in this world other than hate and suffering. My only reason for going on in life was for the soul purpose to kill the one who caused me that very pain." The entire forest seemed to have gone silent by Sasuke's words.

"But right now, that doesn't matter to me," Sasuke said fiercely, still not looking up. "Because right now, at this moment, I am not going to fight for myself. I'm going to fight to defend the ones that have stuck with me when everything seemed hopeless. This time, this fight does not have anything to do with me. Instead…" Sasuke suddenly raised his head again with a look of fierce intensity Naruto had never seen in his long time friend. "Instead, I'm going to fight for my friends!" he yelled, his normally black eyes flashing red with one blink of the eye.

The demon smiled, finally seeing the prize that it had been seeking for such a long time, the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan. When he was younger, the demon had often imagined what it would be like to possess such a wondrous bloodline limit. Now, he felt closer than he had even been before, not since he had last met the other remaining member of the Uchiha clan…

"Sasuke…your eyes," Naruto said in a mixture of surprise in and excitement.

The Uchiha was in a similar state of shock. He had all his life worked as hard as he could to activate the unique bloodline limit of his clan, but it had been the last thing he was thinking about when he had charged in to save Naruto. Was it that somehow, when he had seen Naruto in danger, he had somehow activated his Sharingan? And was it when not he, but his friend needed it most? Was this, perhaps, the true nature of the Sharingan? But how could that be? After what Itachi had said to him, he had always thought that it was a tool of destruction and power. Whatever the reason was, he knew it didn't matter at that moment. For the time being, his brother could wait, he had another pest to exterminate beforehand.

"I hope you're prepared," Sasuke said, glaring at the demon as Naruto stood up behind him. "Because you are about to see the full might of the Uchiha clan firsthand. If you knew what was good for you, it would be time for you to run. I'm more powerful than ever now, you don't stand a chance."

"An impressive speech," the demon said grinning. "But are you able to back up your tough talk, I wonder. We'll have to see. Let's see how you two fare without your other friends."

The demon took two steps forward but suddenly halted as two kunai landed in the exact spot that she was about to step next.

"I think that you miscounted, I see three of us here."

"Shino!" Naruto yelled, completely stunned to see the usually silent Shino again not only alive, but ready to fight. His sunglasses were still missing and he had a large lump on his forehead from before. Besides those small details though, he stood tall and strong, obviously ready to fight once again.

"I apologize that I took so long," Shino said, a faint trace of a friendly smile appearing on his lips, much to both Sasuke and Naruto's surprise. "It's just that I couldn't leave Ino and Hinata-san until I knew that they were going to be safe. And of course, I also needed to make sure that Shikamaru-san would be okay as well."

"What?!" Naruto yelled. "You're sure? Shikamaru's okay? Really?"

"Ino was able to catch him while he was falling through the trees. She had escaped farther down through the trees to try to escape from her," he said, nodding over at the woman. "He's still unconscious, but he was just beginning to awaken when I left."

Naruto felt as though a log that had been thrown onto his shoulders by Lee had been suddenly taken off. He smiled, almost feeling a bit silly for getting so emotional about him earlier. Hopefully Shikamaru will never learn about it, it would absolutely ruin their entire friendship with each other after all.

"So the Aburame boy wishes to die as well," the demon said with a shrug. "Very well. Just know this…I've already failed to kill you twice today, which is a very rare occurrence for me. And with three times, well you can leave it at that the odds are stacked against you."

"We'll see about that," Shino said, his bugs already beginning to crawl out from his coat and buzzing excitedly around him. "Prepare yourself, you're about to face three of the most powerful Genin that are in the Chunin Exams this year…we won't run any longer."

"Yeah, this time, it's your turn to run!" Naruto yelled. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" The clones that were created immediately charged at the demon which she dodged with a side jump to her right to another tree, though she was quickly followed by the rest of the clones.

Unknown to any of the shinobi, even the demon, a lone spectator watched from the highest branches of the trees, assessing the battle with his superior mind. He absentmindedly tossed a kunai up and down in his hand as the battle progressed with great interest, and who wouldn't? He had rarely ever seen Genin put up such a fight before, and at such a young age.

Straightening his glasses, he looked directly at the blonde who was working beside his doppelgangers to try and catch the demon off balance along with his two ally shinobi. If there was one person that he could rule as the most surprising of the three, it was Naruto. The boy had held his own against one of the most powerful shinobi without even using the demon fox's chakra he possessed. Sure, there was no doubt that his opponent was holding back the entire time, more testing his abilities than anything else, yet the sheer fact that Naruto was able to keep his opponent interested enough to not kill him immediately was proof enough of he skills.

"I'm actually disappointed that he didn't finish his fight against Sasuke-kun," the white haired shinobi whispered to no one in particular. "It would have been interesting to see who would have come up on top. Oh well," he finally said, shrugging. "I suppose that I'll need to wait. Now let's just see how he works together as part of a team."

With that, Kabuto sat back onto the bark of his tree and peered through the leaves again, awaiting the outcome of the fierce battle.

The demon took out three kunai from her sleeve and threw them at a couple clones that burst out of existence, though they were only replaced by four more that continued where their replicas had failed.

"She's countering everything we have," Shino said, pulling back slightly. "We need something to catch her off guard."

Naruto's cerulean eyes light up suddenly and a trace of a smile appeared on the sides of his mouth. "I have something, but I'm going to have to ask you to get her to hold still for a bit, a couple seconds is all we need."

"Is that all?" Shino asked before he jumped back into the fray along with Naruto's Kage Bunshins.

Sasuke was about to charge after but grabbed him, but stopped when Naruto's hand suddenly rested on his shoulder. "Hey Sasuke, you remember that one jutsu that we thought up together when we were in the academy but never really tried it out? You know? The one that on Iruka-sensei failed us on because he said that it was too dangerous?" Naruto asked with an excited looking smile.

Sasuke looked back over at Naruto with his Sharingan eyes, staring blankly at his best friend and shaking his head. "Are you serious?"

"It can't hurt to try!" Naruto said smiling.

The Uchiha sighed and shook his head. "You're the most foolish ninja I've ever met in my life…let's do it. I'll do the attacking, I know the jutsu required better."

"Fine," Naruto said, though there was a hint of disappointment in his voice. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Again, four clones reappeared around Naruto and took off after the demon, rejoining the two others that were remaining fighting the demon. All except for one, who stood beside the original Naruto and Sasuke. After the remaining bunshins reached her, Naruto turned to Sasuke. "You ready?"

"Let's just do this," Sasuke said, already gathering his chakra. Sasuke got behind the two Narutos and each of them grabbed one of his arms, facing the demon.

"Get ready, Sasuke, this is going to be one hell of a ride for you," Naruto warned as he prepared himself. "Now, Shino!"

The Naruto clones that surrounded the demon suddenly jumped back, completely leaving the demon wide open for an attack from any side. Before the demon could do anything, three kunai connected with the tree with explosive tags attached to them. With one leap, the demon escaped the explosion and to the next branch of the tree. As soon as he landed though, its feet got stuck in some kind of stinky, green slime.

"Just as expected," Shino said, looking around the corner of the tree that he was hiding behind. He nodded as if in thanks as a large snail the size of his hand slid up the tree beside him, leaving a trail of similar slime right up it.

"Here we go!" Both of the Narutos yelled, planting their feet firmly on the ground and gripping Sasuke's arms tightly. "Katon: Nagareboshi no Jutsu!"

With as much might as they could, both of the Narutos threw Sasuke as hard as they could, straight at where the demon stood. While shooting toward it, the Uchiha heir went through the hand seals of his own trademark jutsu. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" The fire that flew out of Sasuke's mouth suddenly wrapped around his entire body, shooting straight at the demon at top speed.

The demon's eyes widened as Sasuke collided straight into its chest, knocking the wind out of him and burning its already damaged body from Naruto's wind jutsu from earlier. Contorting its face, it let out a long yell as it ripped its feet free from the slime below him and threw Sasuke's flaming body away into another tree.

Gripping its stomach in pain, the demon watched the flame that surrounded Sasuke's body as it began to die out. Though it was indeed a clever trick he and his friend had preformed, the jutsu that they had used had been suicidal. The boy was a fool to have attempted it.

The demon was suddenly hit squarely (once again) in the back, knocked of his branch, and began to fall down the tree. Looking up after him, he saw Sasuke, completely burn free jump down the tree after him, a look of fierce wrath all over his face.

"You used a Kawarimi after you used the fire jutsu, didn't you?" the demon asked looking up at the boy as she continued to fall, obviously impressed.

Instead of responding, Sasuke let out a yell as he attempted a roundhouse kick to the demon but was blocked. Not letting in, he swung around the demon while still in free fall and went into a fury of punches that the demon could do nothing but defend against.

Finally, the two landed on a branch together. The demon charged forward and tried to punch, but Sasuke blocked it, almost as if he had known where it was going to go from the very beginning. The two went into a frenzy of kicks and punches, though both of them were able to block and retaliate equally well, which surprised the demon a great deal.

He wasn't the only one that was surprised. Sasuke could hardly believe all of the new things that he could do with his newly activated Sharingan. The slightest movement that the demon made was assessed immediately in the Uchiha's head without even wanting too. Even the environment had its own particular pattern to them. Everything seemed to have gotten slower and easier to track. There was nothing that could escape his eyes.

A kunai zipped by Sasuke's head that the demon dodged, though it seemed only barely. The next thing it knew, it was no longer Sasuke that he was fighting, but the Aburame boy.

"You were right, I do hate to leave things unfinished," Shino said, his bugs shooting out of his sleeves and straight at the demon. The demon took out a kunai again and slashed the swarm of insects, parting it down the middle and charging at Shino again while throwing four kunai at him.

As soon as he did though, a Naruto clone dropped down from a branch above them and took the kunai for Shino and disappeared, but was replaced by another right away, dropping into a Jyuuken stance. "This will teach you to mess with us!" he yelled, aiming at any part of its open body to try and damage it. The demon took a step back, defending against his attacker.

Unexpectedly, its tongue shot out of its mouth and latched around Naruto's neck, slamming him against another tree. With a small pop, the Naruto that it had been fighting exploded into a cloud of smoke.

The next thing the demon knew, a tight wire wrapped around her entire body, strapping her to the tree behind it. Looking ahead of her, she saw Sasuke holding the wires in both hands and one with his mouth as well. On both sides of him were three Narutos each, and another three stood behind him in the branches behind him.

"Now it's time to show you just what we're made of!" the Naruto's yelled together. "Ready Sasuke?!"

"She isn't escaping this time," Sasuke muttered with his teeth still clenched around the wire. "Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!"

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" the six Narutos that were lined up beside Sasuke yelled with him.

"Futon: Daitoppa no Jutsu!" the three Narutos in the back yelled at once.

The entire area in front of Sasuke and Naruto exploded into flames as the combined jutsu blended together, hitting the demon straight on. The only thing that could be heard above the roaring fire that they had created was the demon's agonizing scream of pain.

When finally the two of them stopped their jutsu, both Genin dropped to their knees in exhaustion, but a triumphant look of success remained with both of them. They had won.

Shino jumped from on tree to another, being careful to not get caught in any of the still burning areas, and to the space between his two allies of them on their branch. The blond and raven haired boy looked up at the bug user and all gave each other a silent nod in congratulations and mutual respect.

Sitting back, Naruto somehow knew that he would not look at Shino and Sasuke in the same way as he once had. Something about their fight together seemed to have formed a bond between the three of them, a bond formed only after comrades who escaped death only by working together and relying on each other as a team. It was kind of different to Naruto, but he was sure that he could get used to it.

"Sasuke-kun! Shino! Naruto!"

The three exhausted Genin turned toward the voice as Ino, Hinata, and (much to Naruto's relief) a slightly shaky looking Shikamaru. His hair had been untied and it hung loosely around his ears, giving him a nearly completely different look.

"That was amazing!" Ino yelled throwing her arms around Sasuke, and holding him tightly. Though the Uchiha didn't look happy in the slightest at the situation, he seemed to have been too exhausted to do anything about it.

"She's right!" Hinata said, taking part in the celebration. "You beat her. I knew that all of you could do it!" She blushed suddenly and looked away, looking embarrassed for yelling so loudly.

"Yeah, well, it's all in a days work, huh guys?" Naruto asked Shino and Sasuke with a chuckle. He then turned over to Shikamaru and looked seriously at him. "Hey, you okay?"

"I've been better," Shikamaru said with a slight groan. "A possible broken rib and a pretty badly bruised stomach, but I should be okay."

"What are you talking about, I was talking about your hair," Naruto said with a laugh. "You look so weird!"

For a second, each of the Genin stood there, listening to the blonde Genin's loud laughter. Soon, Hinata started giggling along with Ino, then Shikamaru began to chuckle as well. Soon enough, all of them were laughing together at Naruto's lame joke, with only the small exception of Shino, who stood silent with a small smile on his face. For the first time that day, the world was perfect.

The laughter finally stopped as cold fear suddenly rushed through all of their veins again, freezing them again in their spots.

"Impossible," Shino muttered, dropping to his knees, straining his face.

Naruto could barely stay on his feet himself. Movement was barely possible before. Now he was exhausted and couldn't feel any movement in his body at all.

Gritting his teeth, he looked up and saw a lone figure staring back at them from across the branches, the demon. Naruto's eyes widened suddenly after seeing its face. It looked as if it was…coming off. Almost like there was another underneath it. It still possessed the same eyes though, freezing his blood along with the rest of his body.

"Such three impressive Genin you are," the demon said, though its voice seemed to have changed drastically, more smooth and deeper now. "I see that I was mistaken from earlier, you three certainly are a few of the strongest Genin I have seen in a long time…"

"What the hell do you want?!" Sasuke yelled. "You don't want our scroll but you just keep coming back to try and kill us! Why do we interest you so much?!"

"Why, because of your power," the demon said, simply. "Personally, I think that it is interesting that only those who have truly suffered ever truly become strong."

"Suffered? What do you mean?" Shino asked.

"Oh, I'm sure you know what I mean. People of your clan are always subject to loneliness. Judged before they even speak a single word, immediately being singled out from the rest of the world, forced to be forever alone. But that is only one example of true suffering. There is also betrayal," he said looking over at Sasuke this time, causing the Uchiha's transformed red eyes widen in surprise. "And let us not forget those who have learned what hatred truly is, even though they have done nothing do deserve it," he said this time to Naruto.

"Why don't you just get lost already?!" Ino yelled. "We've already had enough of you! Just go back to wherever you came from and leave us alone."

"Oh, I'm afraid that is only a matter of time before at least three of you meet me again," the demon said forming a Kage Bunshin seal and creating two clones beside him. He had to say, he could not tell which of the three Genin were actually the most powerful. Each of them specialized in their own special way. It would be a tough decision to choose but one of them, and he did _so _hated choosing.

The three bodies' necks suddenly stretched up and shot at Naruto, Sasuke, and Shino, sinking their teeth deep into their necks. All three Genin suddenly let out a scream of pain and fell to their knees, trying to shake the heads off of their body with some newfound strength.

The demon did not let go though, too interested with what seals would appear for each of them. On the neck of Sasuke, the make of the Cursed Seal of Heaven slowly appeared. The demon smiled, not surprised that such a powerful cursed mark had arisen from such a prodigal shinobi.

On the back of Shino's neck, three connected circles intertwined with each other appeared, raising an eyebrow of surprise from the demon. He had only a dozen times seen the Cursed Seal of Air appear on anyone, and only a few of them had ever survived it later, though they ended up too corrupted to remain alive. He had personally killed each of them himself. The only question was if this boy would be different from the others.

Finally, the last cursed seal on the back right side of Naruto's neck began to form, a single circle with multiple short lines shooting out of it. This was the seal that surprised the demon the most. Only one time before had someone received the Cursed Seal of the Sun, though they died immediately afterwards, giving the demon absolutely no idea of what powers it might possess. What interesting finds he had discovered indeed.

"Get off of them!" Hinata yelled, electricity already beginning to gather in her palms and thrust them at the one that was connected to Naruto. Connecting square in the forehead, the clone disappeared and Naruto fell gripping his head and screaming in agony. The clone that had attacked Shino disappeared as well, and the original let go of Sasuke and its neck regained its natural length.

"Who the hell are you and what did you do to them!" Shikamaru yelled angrily over his teammates' screams.

"Me? They call me Orochimaru," he said. "And I did nothing more but give them a gift for entertaining me for so long. Soon enough, one by one, each of them will seek me out to pursue power that only I can grant them. It is only a matter of time."

"No way!" Shikamaru yelled, almost seeming to have been infuriated by the man's accusation. "You must be a fool for believing that! Now tell me how to reverse the seal!"

"Ah, but there is no way," Orochimaru said with a smile while slowly beginning to morph into the tree branch at his feet. "Those seals that they have will stay with them for the rest of their lives, which may prove to be a short time indeed if they do not prove to be strong enough. But I have delayed here already. I'm a very busy man. So if you would excuse me…"

"No you don't!" Shikamaru yelled, jumping from his tree branch to the one Orochimaru was trying to escape on, ignoring the searing pain that shot through his body all the while. Pulling back his fist, he pulled back his fist to aim a punch at what was left of the man, which turned out to be only the top half of his head. With a cry, Shikamaru threw his punch, but ended up hitting tree bark as their opponent disappeared.

"Damn it!" Shikamaru yelled in frustration, punching the tree branch again as hard as he could and causing a small trickle of blood to trail down his fist. With a deep breath, he jumped back to the tree where the rest of his teammates were.

Naruto, Shino, and Sasuke had all gone completely silent, all of them completely out cold. Ino cried over both Shino and Sasuke's bodies while Hinata silently held Naruto's head up against her. Suddenly, her eyes shot open again and she pulled off Naruto's hitae-ate. Shikamaru's eyes widened, seeing the green seal that was on the blonde's forehead had begun to glow faintly.

Slowly, Hinata looked up at Shikamaru, her violet eyes filled with fear. With a gulp she spoke softly, "He's dying…" The tears that seemed to have welled up in her eyes for such a long time suddenly burst out, putting her head into Naruto's chest and crying harder than she ever had in her entire life…

* * *

_So anyways, there's my chapter that I'm going to get a lot of hate mail about despite what I put in the first paragraph on top. Trust me, I actually wanted to avoid doing this, but without it, too many things I have planned would make less sense than they would have without all of this happening. Hopefully, these events will help form him into the greatest Hokage that he is destined to be. _

_But I have good news! Things are going to start getting better for Naruto for a little while. And don't worry, this won't make Naruto's life a living hell. Remember, Naruto sometimes has a habit of making things good out of a bad situation, and that won't change in this fic. This also gives Sasuke and Naruto something that will help them understand each other a little. But will it be enough for Sasuke to not abandon Konoha…?_

_Oh yes, and I also might add that this turn of events will cause a certain change in my story that you have all been asking for…_

_Original Jutsu List_

_Raiton: Dendou Touza no Jutsu__ – Electric Current Jutsu (original jutsu by me)_

_The user of this jutsu slams his or her hand on the ground and sends an electric charge through the surrounding area. Area can become larger when additional chakra is added._

_Futon: Oshi Heki no Jutsu__- Wind Release: Pressure Burst Jutsu (original jutsu by me)_

_Wind gathers around the users fist and when connects with something, the wind expands rapidly while it both tears away at the target and propels them away. It can also be used in defense by clapping the user's hands together and forming a temporary "wall" of wind to blow away incoming weapons such as shuriken and kunai._

_Katon: Nagareboshi no Jutsu__- Fire Release: Shooting Star Jutsu (original jutsu by me)_

_The user fires himself at his opponent at great speed. After gaining momentum, he or she uses a fire jutsu to surround themself with fire and collide with their opponent. Usually a fatal jutsu, but injury can be avoided with the Kawarmi no Jutsu (Substitution Jutsu)._

_Anyways, please leave a review. And I'm still accepting jutsu suggestions. I got one recently that I like and will probably be used later, but they don't have an account so I couldn't respond to them. Anyways, if you're reading this, thanks for the idea. Thanks._

_GAZ_


	18. Nightmares

_Hello again everybody…and I know, I know. It's been forever and a half since my last update. But let's face it people, life isn't easy as we all know, and mine is no different. But I'm back, and I'll try my best for my next update will be sooner than this one was. Sorry that I kept you waiting._

_Anyways, just something I want to say before I start the chapter, concerning my story. This story was planned a very long time ago and I haven't changed its direction at all where I want to end up with. Anyways, my point is that due to some recently discovered events in the Naruto manga, this will not be following all cannon facts. Don't worry, it's not a Yondaime is the Akatsuki leader thing. It actually pertains with Naruto, so you don't' have to worry about over used plot stuff. I've already given several hints in the story… Anyways, that's all for now. Enjoy.

* * *

_

Shikamaru let out a sigh before looking back over at Ino and Hinata, whom were busy looking over their fellow teammates, whom were lying still in complete silence with only the exception of the occasional moan that came from each of them.

Still, the Genin genius knew that a few occasional moans were a relief compared to the screaming. It was mere luck that they weren't found… Just thinking about their agonizing screams made Shikamaru's body shiver uncomfortably. Whatever had happened to them…is happening to them, it must be horrible.

They had found a small hole in the base of one of the trees that was nearby where Naruto, Sasuke, and Shino had fought the woman. Though Shikamaru hated to admit it, they were in a bad situation. Not only were their three best fighters out of it, but they were tired and completely defenseless. What he wouldn't give for Hinata to still have her Byakugan right now. If she did, they would be able to know if there were any other teams heading toward them. Not that he thought it would do them any good anyways. Her entire attention remained on Naruto, or more precisely the glowing green seal on his forehead. It hadn't stopped glowing since Orochimaru had left, which Shikamaru guessed to have been more than two hours ago.

"Don't worry," Ino said breaking the silence, giving Hinata a soft smile and nod. "They're tough. I'm sure that they'll all be just fine."

Hinata stared back with her violet eyes for a moment at Ino and nodded back in thanks, though she didn't seem completely convinced. Her hand strayed over to Naruto's and she gripped it softly before closing her eyes, trying again to keep any tears from falling.

Ino looked back at Shikamaru in defeat, but the Nara still gave her an approving nod. When she wasn't busy glomping onto Sasuke, she had her moments.

"Alright, listen up," Shikamaru said only just loud enough for both Hinata and Ino to hear him clearly. "I hate to say this, but as we are right now, we're screwed. We need to make a plan in case we get ambushed sometime. If we're lucky, these three will wake up sometime soon and we can be on our way. If we're unlucky, we're probably going to have to stay here until the exam is over…"

"But it's only the second day," Ino said disapprovingly. "What if they don't wake up and they…" she gulped once and shook her head, "get worse. If we're fast enough…"

"Ino, imagine if you are taking part in this exam and you come across a team that has injured teammates with them and are obviously tired from the exam. Meanwhile, you haven't seen anybody since the exam started. Would you decide to be merciful and let them go along their way, or will you take advantage of the situation and attack for an easy scroll?"

The blonde kunoichi looked down to the ground and mumbled something about stupid proctors and their rules, but still remained silent enough for Shikamaru to continue. Before he did though, he moved over to Sasuke's equipment bag and grabbed a couple of wires that Sasuke hadn't used from the battle earlier and also a couple of kunai, which he stabbed into the wall of the tree that they were in and tied the wire to. All the while, he was trying to ignore the pain in his stomach. That snake had done a real number on him, it was a hassle to even move. If they did get into a fight, he didn't know how much use he could be.

"So here's my plan. I'm going to go out to keep watch if anybody comes around. You two will stay down here and make sure that these three stay safe," he said gesturing toward Naruto, Sasuke, and Shino. "If I see anybody, I'll pull on one of these wires and it will fall off of the wall. It shouldn't make too loud of a sound to be noticed. I'll come back once the coast is clear. You got it?"

"Um, sure," Ino said with a nod.

Shikamaru nodded back before looking back at Hinata. "Are you okay? Has that wound that you gave yourself begun to heal yet?"

Hinata's eyes widened suddenly before she looked at the back of her hand where she had stabbed herself to break herself out of the Genjutsu that they had been in. She had forgotten all about it until Shikamaru had asked her. The back of it was caked with dried blood and she noticed that it hurt slightly if she moved it too quickly. Fighting and forming hand seals would prove difficult.

"It's fine right now," Hinata said reassuringly. From inside her weapons pouch, she drew out some kind of ointment and rubbed it on. With a hesitant look on her face, she took off her coat, revealing the the black shirt that she wore under it. Taking out her kunai, she cut a long piece of it off before wrapping it around her hand. She sighed sadly once and then threw it to the back of the tree. It had been her favorite coat…

"What about you?" Ino asked. "You said that you might have a broken rib. Maybe I should keep watch out there instead, I'm not injured."

Shikamaru let out a small chuckle. Ino always did have a good memory. "Thanks, Ino," Shikamaru said standing up with a grunt. "But no thanks. I want you to stay back here in case someone…gets me. You and Hinata should be able to handle yourselves just fine. And I don't intend to start a fight anyways, not in my condition. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

He began to walk out into the forest but stopped, looking back over his shoulder. "Hinata, I'm going to need our scroll. Just in case I do end up getting caught, I might be able to avoid a fight if I offer it to them. We'll probably fail the exam, but at least we'll be around to take it next year."

Hinata nodded back before pulling out her Earth scroll from her weapons pouch and tossing it to Shikamaru.

"I guess that fight that Naruto and Sasuke-kun had was pointless after all," Ino said, pulling out her own black scroll. "We both ended up having the exact same scroll. Can't change the past I guess," she said with a shrug.

"Much less those two," Shikamaru said smiling and nodding at Naruto and Sasuke. "You two should get some sleep. We don't need all three of us to be completely worn out if an enemy comes by. I'm sure my message will wake you up if it needs to."

"Be careful, Shikamaru-kun," Hinata said worriedly. Her teammate looked back and gave one last reassuring smile and nod before jumping off into the forest.

"And there he goes, walking out and pretending that he has to put himself in danger just because he's the only guy," Ino said, shaking her head. "I feel bad for whatever girl ends up with him someday. Maybe I should just hope that she'll put him in his place." She let out a sigh before looking back at Sasuke. "But I guess we can't change them… Such idiots…" she said in a slightly sadder tone this time.

"Maybe," Hinata said, trying to keep up the conversation despite the recent events. She couldn't say that Ino and she had been friends during their time at the academy. Heck, she was pretty sure that Ino hardly even knew who she was during that time. She was always the popular girl who was always at the center of the attention while Hinata was the quiet one that kept usually to herself. She seemed to only pay attention to Sasuke or Sakura anyways, trying to win the heart of one and defeat the other.

"So, have you told him yet?" Ino asked, her eyes slightly narrowed and a sly grin on her face. At first, Hinata looked back blankly at Ino. "You know…that you like him," she said, nodding over at Naruto.

Hinata literally could feel the blood rush to her head. She instinctively hid her eyes behind her bangs and began pressing her two pointer fingers together.

"Is it really that obvious," she asked, wishing that her face would get a little less red.

"Oh come on," Ino said, rolling her eyes. "The only wh'o dimwitted enough to not tell that you like Naruto is Naruto himself. So…are you going to tell me or are you just going to hide behind that hair of yours?"

With a gulp, Hinata's violet eyes began to dart from Ino, to Naruto, and to the ground in various intervals. "W-well…" she said, trying her best not to stutter. She had been doing such a good job at it too! "I…we haven't really talked about it…we've been kind of busy with all of our missions and…"

Ino let out a heavy sigh and leaned back against the side of the tree, shaking her head.

"Hinata, you seriously have to get a move on. It's obvious that Naruto isn't going to make a move…no offence," she added when she saw the Hyuuga's horrified face after her last comment. "It's just that the blonde punk is too blind to see how much he really likes you. Trust me, I know a perfect match when I see one."

With a gulp, Hinata gave a small smile to her fellow kunoichi. "Thanks, Ino-san. Um…what about you and Sasuke-kun?" she asked awkwardly, presuming that it was her turn to ask the same question. She didn't have much experience with girl talk. Most of her conversations were with Sasuke and Naruto which usually revolved around the other two arguing, about class, or about some kind of prank that was about to be set.

"Well, Sasuke-kun is definitely a challenge to win over, but don't you worry! He'll be all mine in no time. Heck, forehead girl doesn't have a chance," she said laughing, as if she had already won her "match" with Sakura.

"But weren't you and Sakura-san best friends when you two were younger?" Hinata asked.

Ino's features became suddenly more sullen and she turned her head away as if Hinata's comment was an insult. "I wouldn't really have called us friends. I just hung out with her because I felt sorry for her, nothing else. I bet she only hung around me to get more popular anyways. It's pathetic that she would even do that."

"I don't know Sakura-san very well, but I don't think she would do that," Hinata said. Ino's eyes darted back at Hinata, but she didn't respond, so Hinata decided that meant that she was allowed to continue. "Well…after you two stopped being friends, both of you didn't talk that much anymore. To anyone really. Sakura-san always looked really sad all the time. But she stopped after…"

"After…?" Ino repeated slowly, waiting for Hinata to go on.

Hinata gave a small shrug and finally looked back up at Ino. "After you two started to fight. Sasuke and Naruto fight a lot, but I know that they consider each other best friends. I always thought that you and Sakura were just doing the same thing. Or you were fighting just to have the chance to talk with each other again. To kind of relive your friendship with each other…"

For the first time, Ino stared at Hinata with her mouth slightly agape. When she finally realized it though, she shut it so quickly that it hurt her jaw, but paid no attention to it.

"Well, who asked you anyways?" she asked, laying down on the ground and turning her back to Hinata. "The point is, whatever 'friendship' me and Sakura had is over now. And I don't feel like talking about it anymore."

Hinata's shoulders sagged slightly, sad that she hadn't been able to convince Ino to give Sakura a second chance. She guessed that this could have only been expected. She never was any good at convincing people at things. Slowly, she too lay down to the ground and closed her eyes, forcing herself to sleep, but not before slipping one of her hands into Naruto's.

* * *

'_Where am I…?'_

_Naruto began to open his eyes, but swiftly shut them again after seeing the bright light that was around him. With his eyes still shut, he lifted himself up so that he was sitting. Feeling underneath him, he could tell that he was on top of wood…pretty nice feeling wood also. As if someone had just got done polishing it…_

_The memory of the demon suddenly exploded in Naruto's mind. As quickly as he could, he rose to his feet and prepared to make some Kage Bushins for backup, but suddenly found that he was all alone…wherever this was._

_He was in a hallway…one that Naruto couldn't help but feel was familiar. The floors were indeed wooden just as he had guessed, and the walls were white with only the slightest touch of gray on them. Looking down the hallway, he saw on the wall a small bell…He was at the academy!_

"_What am I doing here?" Naruto asked, observing his surroundings. He stopped when he realized how different his voice sounded like. It was a lot more high pitch…it kind of reminded him of Konohamaru's voice._

_And so came the third surprise. Looking down at himself, he found that he had grown even shorter than he already was! Not only that, but he was wearing the same white tee shirt with the orange Konoha symbol on it, along with his old blue pants that he had gotten rid of after some other student had said that it was only to imitate Sasuke._

"_What...the hell is thins?" Naruto said to himself, scratching his head in confusion. With a shrug, he began to walk down the hallway, knowing that he wasn't going to accomplish anything just by standing around all day…_

* * *

Thump.

Hinata let out a quiet yawn, the noise rousing her from her sleep. Rubbing her eyes, she stretched and shook her head. When she opened her eyes she shot up quickly in fear, looking around as if she had no idea where she was. A second later though, her face returned to normal and she let out a breath of disappointment. For a moment, she had thought that all that had happened the previous day had just been a horrible dream, something that would never come back. Unfortunately, it turned out that she was wrong.

She turned over to Ino, who was still sleeping quietly, although her face did not seem peaceful. She couldn't blame her. Who would be calm after everything that had happened?

She next turned back to look at the other three that were with them. Her face went pale when she saw the expression on Sasuke's face. The raven haired boy face was contorted in pain, and his eyes were shut tight as if he was trying to dispel some type of nightmare he was having.

"Ino," Hinata whispered, shaking the girl from her sleep. "Ino, wake up."

The blonde kunoichi opened her eyes slightly and looked over at Hinata, looking slightly annoyed. "What is it?" she asked.

"Something is wrong with Sasuke-kun," she whispered. Ino bolted up so fast that it surprised Hinata and was beside Sasuke in less than a second, placing her hand on Sasuke's forehead.

"He's burning up," Ino said, pulling her hand back and holding it up against her chest.

Ino suddenly let out a scream that she stopped by quickly covering her mouth. Hinata had a kunai out in a flash, but saw that the only thing that had frightened her was that a large beetle had fallen off from the roof of their hiding spot and right in front of her and onto Sasuke's chest. She sighed in relief, but tensed up again after she looked back at Shino.

Hundreds of bugs swarmed around his body, some even coming out from under his coat while making a high pitch hissing sound. Hinata cringed, feeling as if that if the sound was anything, it was of screams of agony.

"What's happening to them?" Ino asked, looking over at Shino.

Worriedly, Hinata looked back over at Naruto, but saw that he remained as still and motionless as he had been for the entire night, though the seal continued to shine as much as it had before she had fallen asleep. Hinata wasn't sure what to make of this. Whatever was happening to Sasuke and Shino seemed to not be doing the same to Naruto. What's that supposed to mean…?

"Well, well, well, look what we have here."

Both Ino and Hinata looked up at each other simultaneously, the same look of fear on each of their faces. In a flash, Hinata's eyes were to the place where Shikamaru had stuck his kunai. It now lay on the grass, too far away from where it had once been to have merely just fallen off. So it was the kunai falling to the ground that had awoken her.

Slowly, the two turned around to face their new "visitors". She immediately recognized the three from the first exam. It was the Genin team that had attacked them before Ibiki's arrival, the ones from Otogakure. In the center stood a hunched boy with bandages wrapped around his head so she could only see one of his dark eyes. On either side of him stood his two teammates, a boy with gray hair and cocky grin on his face, and a girl with long, dark hair.

"We were thinking of just using a squirrel with a paper bomb on its back to finish you two off along with your friends in there," the bandaged one said taking a step forward almost like a waddle, and cocking his head to the side slightly. "But we decided against it. After all, where would the fun in that be?"

Hinata gripped her kunai tightly, looking around frantically for any sign of Shikamaru. Didn't he say that he would try to get back as soon as he could to help them? Where was he? Could he have…?

With a deceivingly calm look on her face, Ino's hand went to her weapons pouch and took out an Earth Scroll, showing it to the three. "Hey, listen, there's no need to get ahead of ourselves. We already know that this fight isn't in our favor, so how about we give you our scroll and you can just be on your way?"

The other boy with the dark gray hair threw his head back and laughed, turning to his two teammates. "Do you hear that, Dosu? They want to give us their scroll so they don't have to fight…and I thought that they didn't make cowards shinobi these days."

Ino gripped the scroll in her hand tightly. They didn't want to just take the scroll. It looked like they preferred to do things by force.

"Alright then," Dosu said, pulling back his overly long sleeve, showing the metal contraption that was on it. Hinata and Ino's eyes narrowed, neither of them having any idea what it was for. "If you don't mind, we would like to make it to the tower before lunch, so we're going to need you two to die now."

"I doubt that they'll put up much of a fight," the girl said sneering. "If we could get this close to them without them even realizing it, this isn't going to take long."

"We'll see, Kin," Dosu said, before darting at Hinata and Ino with his two teammates just behind him.

"Looks like we've gotten into a fight after all," Ino grunted, throwing her scroll to the side and pulling out a kunai. "Get ready, Hinata. It looks like we're on our own for this one…"

Hinata gulped nervously and prepared herself. Though she hadn't felt such fear since she had fought Haku and Zabuza, she stood her ground. There was no way that she was going to let these three get by her and get to her friends. She didn't care how powerful any of them were. She wasn't going down without a fight.

Suddenly, Dosu stopped his running and grabbed Kin by the arm, throwing her back behind him. "Zaku!" he yelled, who was too far out of reach to grab. "Stop!"

Zaku turned around and looked at his teammate, but his eyes widened in fear when he saw what he had gotten himself into. He finally noticed the paper bombs smoldering under the upturned grass beneath his feet. With as much chakra as he could, he leapt into the air right as the first paper bomb exploded below him. He raised his arms, shielding his eyes from the flying debris that was pelting his body, though he had to admit that it was better than being blown to bits in that hell hole.

"Don't let your guard down, baka!" Dosu yelled. "Above you!"

The gray haired Oto nin looked up as quickly as he could, finally finding the perpetrator of the paper bombs. Above him in the high trees looking down at him with a cocky, albeit lazy, smile was Shikamaru. With a flick of his wrist, he cut the rope beside him and twenty kunai zoomed by him, right at Zaku.

Most other Genins at that moment would have just panicked and waited for the attack to come. Zaku on the other hand, smiled back at the Genin above him, outstretching his arms and revealing the two holes that were in the palm of each of his hands. Shikamaru raised his eyebrows in confusion, but he never expected what came next.

"Zankuuha!" Zaku yelled loudly.

Shikamaru's eyes widened as his kunai were violently blasted away from their target. Before he could do anything, the wind blast hit him dead on, knocking him off his branch.

"Damn," he swore, as he recovered from the blow and chakra stuck to a tree. He looked down at the boy, who was still looking up at him snidely as he fell back to the ground. Shikamaru realized that this guy was definitely not someone to mess with. He had to have been more than twenty five meters away from him when he had used the attack, and still it was able to use enough force to knock him off the branch he was on. Very roughly, if he might add. If he, or any of his teammates, were hit by that jutsu at close range, they may not be able to recover from it, especially in their condition.

"Well…this is just great," he said sighing before he stopped sending chakra to his feet and allowed himself to freefall toward the ground. At the lowest branch, he caught himself with chakra and flipped around it once to slow his fall, then dropped to the forest floor with a small grunt of pain from his stomach, just in front of Ino and Hinata.

"Nice little traps you made there," Dosu said, cocking his head to the side as Zaku rejoined him. "It might have worked, but you set off your paper bombs too early. It gave me enough time to stop myself and one of my teammates, and just enough to warn the other."

"If I had waited, your friend there would have been able to make it to these two," Shikamaru replied. "In other words, I would have killed you two but risk the safety of my friends. I'd rather take out only one of you than lose even one of my teammates…"

"Pretty words, I think I might become ill," Dosu said with a dark chuckle. "We'll see how well you can defend your friends. And don't think that we'll spare the ones behind you also. We aren't as soft as you Konoha shinobi."

Shikamaru narrowed his dark eyes, analyzing the three in front of him. He was pretty sure that he had just seen the most of what the gray haired one could do, but he still had no idea what kind of abilities the other two. He had a hunch though that the other male's had something to do with the metal device on his arm…

"Okay," he said, stepping back so he could talk to Ino and Hinata, but made sure to keep a close watch on the three in front of him as well. "As troublesome as it is, we may have the best of luck with going one on one with each of them."

"That's the best you got?" Ino asked. "And here I thought that you were actually getting smart after seeing you pull off a trap like that. If you haven't forgotten, you've got a hurt stomach and Hinata has a gash in her hand. Taking them head on doesn't sound like the brightest of plans."

The lazy Genin looked over at his childhood "friend" annoyingly. "I don't like it either. I'm no good at fighting myself, I have no idea what your abilities since you left the academy…and without Naruto, me and Hinata's team attacks are pretty much screwed over. Point is, we can't run or they'll just catch up with us or take Naruto, Sasuke, or Shino as hostages. This is the best chance we have for now. We'll just have to take our chances."

"Fine," Ino said, with a shrug. "But I still don't like it."

"Join the club," Shikamaru said back. "You can take the girl, Ino. Hinata," he said, turning over to the blue haired Hyuuga, "I'm going to ask you to take on that guy with the weird hairdo. You're a close range fighter, so you're probably best suited for taking him on since his jutsu seem to be long ranged oriented. Keep close enough so that he can't use it on you and you should be fine. Can you do that?"

"Y-yes!" Hinata said nodding.

Shikamaru nodded back and turned back to the group. "As for me, I'll take on mummy guy right there. I don't like that thing on his arm. Hopefully I'll be able to figure out how it works without learning the hard way. Besides that, the only advice I can give right now is to watch out. These guys mean business."

"Alright," Hinata and Ino said together, nodding at the same time.

Together, the three dashed at their opponents which they responded in kind. Unknown to any of them, a dark, purple aura had begun to wrap around Sasuke…

* * *

"_Hello?" Naruto called into yet another empty room. In frustration, he slammed the door shut and stuffed his tiny hands into his pockets as he once again began to walk down the hallway. He hadn't found anybody since he had woken up. Usually, he could always find one or two Chunin teachers in the academy on any given day, but the building seemed to have become eerily empty with no sign of anybody around._

_Finally fed up of looking around the school, Naruto decided to take his search outdoors. He was only wasting time looking around in this damn school. If he hadn't found anybody yet, there probably wasn't anybody around. Someone would surely have already heard him yelling anyways._

_Naruto walked outside and immediately shielded his eyes from the intense brightness. Why was everything so damn bright that day anyways?! With his eyes finally adjusting to the light, he looked around, seeing that the school yard also seemed to have been abandoned. Where was everybody?_

_Finally, he looked over to his right and he breathed out a sigh of relief, though what he saw still confused him. Sitting alone on a bench, with his back to Naruto, was a younger version of Sasuke. He was about the same age as when Naruto had first befriended him. He guessed that he had not yet reached his growth spurt yet, since he looked about the same height as the blonde._

"_Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled as he began to run toward him. The black haired youth turned his head around and looked at Naruto. Though he was at a distance, Naruto could see the glare that he was shooting at him. The blonde shrugged it off though. A heated stare wasn't anything new from Sasuke. He was always a moody boy, even when he was younger._

"_Hey, do you know what's going on?" Naruto asked when he finally reached the Uchiha. "I've been looking all over for somebody. Where is everyone?"_

"_Gone, obviously," Sasuke said, turning away from Naruto and beginning to walk down the empty street. "Don't you have anything else to do…? Why don't you get lost?"_

"_Well, what's wrong with you, sourpuss?" Naruto asked, running up to Sasuke so that he was walking beside him. He smiled widely, but fell backwards as a hard punch suddenly connected with his jaw, causing him to fall to the ground. In shock, Naruto rubbed his mouth from the pain of the unexpected assault._

"_Wha-what the hell was that for you ass hole?!" Naruto yelled, picking himself up from off the ground. He and Sasuke had often threatened to beat the other up, but neither of them had either gone far enough to actually punch the other...well, at least punch hard._

"_Are you deaf or something? I told you to get lost, so why don't you do that?" Sasuke said, staring daggers at Naruto and once again began walking away._

_Naruto gripped his hand in a fist and walked back up to Sasuke, spinning the other boy around and gripping his shirt._

"_Get the hell off of me!" Sasuke yelled, trying to shake Naruto off._

"_Fat chance! What the hell is wrong with you today?"_

_A rather large frying pan suddenly connected with Naruto's head, making him again fall to the ground._

"_You stop harassing that kid," a deep voice yelled that Naruto recognized in a second. He looked up and saw Teuchi, owner of Naruto's favorite restaurant, Ichiraku Ramen, holding a frying pan in his hand in a threatening manner from behind his counter. Beside him stood his daughter, Ayame, who shared a hateful glare that even rivaled Sasuke's… But they couldn't be here! Ichiraku Ramen was at least a whole mile away from the academy. Turning around, Naruto found that the academy was no where to be found, and had been replaced by a crowd of people, who stood by with similar heated looks at Naruto, not moving an inch. _

"_I can't believe that we must force ourselves to live with someone like you," a woman suddenly spoke up. "Why don't you do us all a favor and just go home and die. It's not like anyone here will miss you anyways."_

_A murmur of agreement swam through the crowd as they all as one took a single step forward, surrounding Naruto from all sides. Naruto could feel himself sweating. He had no idea what was going on, but it wasn't good. He had to get out of here. Picking himself off the ground again, he dashed toward the direction where his house was, preparing to push himself through the crowed if possible._

_Something suddenly caught him by the foot and he went head first into the ground, knocking his nose against the hard pavement. He rose to his knees and wiped away the blood that had begun to leak out of his nose. He turned around angrily to face whoever had tripped him, but saw above him Shikamaru, once again looking younger than he should be._

"_Still getting up, huh?" Shikamaru said with a dark smile on his face, kicking the blonde in the chest and knocking him on his back. "What a troublesome…no, troublesome doesn't even begin to describe you. You're worthless! Why do you even exist?! Everyone hates you!"_

"_What's going on," Naruto said, backing up while still on the ground, looking from Shikamaru and then to Sasuke. "This is wrong. This has to be some kind of dream…"_

_The dark grin once again reformed on Shikamaru's face. "Alright then, tell me, does this feel like a dream to you?" he asked, kicking Naruto again in his already injured jaw. _

_For a moment, Naruto lay motionless, completely dazed and confused of what was going on. This couldn't be right…it was impossible. None of this could be real. These people would never treat him like this! They were his friends!_

_He looked up and a rush of relief suddenly flowed through him. High on a roof stood Iruka, looking down at him. Now Naruto felt safe. If there was one person in the world who would stick by Naruto, it was Iruka. _

"_Hey, Iruka-sensei," Naruto said shakily, standing to his feet. "I seem to be in a kind of jam," he said with a weak laugh. "Can you give me a hand down here?"_

_Iruka didn't respond, but continued to look down at Naruto, emotionlessly. Dread began to well up again in Naruto. No…there's no way…_

"_Come one, Iruka-sensei…give me a hand…TALK TO ME!" he exclaimed loudly, tears beginning to run down his face. The scarred Chunin silently turned his back away from Naruto and jumped off, disappearing without a trace._

"_No…" Naruto said, gripping his fist._

"_See, not even he likes you!" Sasuke yelled. "You don't belong here, no one cares about you. Why do you even exist in the first place?! No one wants you here!"_

"_You're wrong," Naruto said, looking down at the ground and gripping his fist._

"_No one cares! Just die!" Sasuke yelled. Together, the entire crowd around him began muttering similar remarks. Everyone was against him…no one cared anymore. These people were the ones that he had sworn to protect…the ones that had given him strength! Sasuke, Shikamaru, Iruka-sensei…._

"_Get away from me!" Naruto yelled, covering his ears, trying to block out the sound of the crowds voices. But he could still hear them. They were only becoming louder! "Please stop…please stop…"_

* * *

Hinata grasped her kunai as tightly as she could, charging at her opponent. Just before she reached him, the boy drew out a kunai as well from his own weapon's pouch and their two kunai clashed and connected, sending an earsplitting ring through the forest.

"I always have the rottenest luck," Zaku said, beginning to push Hinata back with his superior strength. "I actually have to fight one of the girls, not that the guy looks to be that much better. Why don't you just leave and save yourself. That'd be the smart thing to do…It's not like any of you are going to survive."

Anger suddenly filled up inside of Hinata. She usually didn't have much of a temper. But threatening her friends is where she drew the line.

Hinata suddenly pulled back her kunai and ducked around the other nin, causing him to stumble forward. In a blink of an eye, she was through the seals of her jutsu and lightning had begun to run down her arm. Concentrating as hard as she could and wincing through the pain that her injured hand was causing, the electricity slowly began to stretch, becoming more compact and focused. The electricity that was going down her arm was now at least three feet longer than her arm's length. Kakashi-sensei had been working with her diligently so that she could perfect the jutsu that she had used against Haku in the Land of Waves mission. Time to see if it wasn't all for nothing.

"Raiton: Ikazuchi Yari no Jutsu!"

Hinata burst forward with as much speed as she could. Her opponent had recovered from his stumble and finally looked back at her, but the snide smile that he had once had on his face had disappeared. Now, it shone with genuine worry. For a moment, he wondered if he should use his Zankuuha, but realized that by the time he would use it, she would be too close. She'd be done for, but there was a chance that he could be injured as well.

Just before Hinata reached him, he leapt to the side, narrowly dodging the jutsu. Hinata did not let up though. She turned quickly and again darted toward him, trying to land a single shot with her electric attack. Zaku knew that it was all she needed to finish the battle. He also knew that the odds were against him. He never had been good at dodging, he usually could take care of his opponents before they even got near him, but now he was going against a taijutsu specialist. He wasn't that smart, but Zaku knew that he was in trouble.

Zaku smiled, an idea suddenly coming to mind. Quickly, he raised both of his arms, showing Hinata the tubes in each palm. Hinata's eyes widened suddenly and she dodged to the side. Zaku smiled, immediately closing his fist and charging back at Hinata. Before she could react, his fist connected with her stomach and soon after a hard kick in the same spot.

She fell to the ground and skidded to a halt five yards away, losing her concentration for her jutsu at the same time, causing it to disappear. When she finally did stop, she closed her eyes, angry at herself. She had been tricked. He was never actually going to use his air blast jutsu. He just pretended so that she would stop fighting. Shikamaru wouldn't have fallen for that…

Standing back up to her feet, she quickly looked over at both Shikamaru and Ino to check how they were doing. Shikamaru had seemed to have gone with his usual dodge and analyze plan, only throwing an occasional punch every now and again, though they usually ended up not connecting. And Ino was…not doing that badly. Her taijutsu seemed to have gotten much better since she had left the academy. If anything, she was probably fairing the best against her opponent.

"You must feel pretty confident in your skills to be looking away from your opponent!"

Hinata barely dodged the first punch that Zaku threw, and had to block his next kick with her arm. Grabbing hold of it, she tried to throw him off balance, but he seemed to be expecting this, rolling to the side as soon as he hit the ground again and drawing out four shuriken. The battle had suddenly turned, now Hinata was the one who was defending for her life. Her hand went to her weapons pouch to reach for a kunai. Her heart felt as though it stopped when she felt nothing but the bottom of her bag. How could she have been so stupid to have not realized she was out of weapons?!

Taking her hand out of her pouch, she immediately began going through seals once again. Just as Hinata finished her seals, Zaku threw his shuriken, and all four of them sunk into her body.

"Got you!" Zaku yelled in triumph, but he was silenced when the Hyuuga girl disappeared and was replaced by a broken tree branch.

Zaku cursed to himself before looking around again, trying to find the location of his prey. Suddenly, he realized what situation he was in. No one was distracting him, and there was no one left to defend where Sasuke was… The grey haired Genin smiled in victory as he charged at the base of the tree where his victim lay, waiting for his death.

"Now you die, Uchiha!" Zaku yelled, causing all heads to turn in his direction as he stopped and pointed both of his arms at the place he was charging.

Without warning, two lightning shots collided into his chest from some unknown source. Before he knew it, he was falling backwards to the ground, his body seeming to have gone completely lifeless. Before he hit the ground though, he had enough time to see Hinata drop back down to the ground from the branch she had been standing on overhead, breathing deeply.

"Great job, Hinata!" Shikamaru yelled before turning back to his own opponent. "I suggest that you grab your friend and leave. This battle is over. You're down one man."

"Well, I guess that makes two of us," Dosu replied, letting out a chuckle before he looked back over Shikamaru's shoulder.

"Zankuuha!"

Shikamaru spun around just in time to see Hinata spin backwards and into the tree where Naruto, Sasuke, and Shino lay. With her eyes closed, she fell to the ground, in between Sasuke and Naruto. Struggling, she was able to lift her head and look back at Zaku. He had been able to use his jutsu while laying on the ground…his arm had landed while pointing directly at her after he was hit by her attack. It was mere luck that it had landed that way. It didn't hit her square on, only getting the right side of her body, but it was still enough to send her flying in the air…

In frustration, she weakly lifted her arm up and let it fall, as if punching the ground. She looked over at Naruto, whose face had become contorted in pain, making her heart break even more than it had been. She turned her head the opposite direction at Sasuke, and her eyes widened in shock. A dark, purple aura had completely enveloped him, making Hinata shiver for a reason she did not know. Her eyes darted down, thinking she had seen some movement from his hands. Her eyes widened even more as she saw black markings begin to run up his arm from his hands, running up his arm and toward the rest of his body…

"You underestimate Zaku's determination," Dosu said while Shikamaru continued to look at where Hinata had fallen in dismay. "Once he sets his goals on defeating an opponent, nothing can stop him. The same goes for me as well."

Shikamaru began to prepare himself for some kind of jutsu, but saw that the boy merely flicked the metal contraption that was around his arm. A high pitch ring filled Shikamaru's ears, confusing him. Suddenly, his body gave way as he fell to his knees, shaking. He fought his body's instincts to vomit, and proved unsuccessful. He breathed deeply, trying to regain his composure.

"My jutsu uses sound," Dosu said, before kicking Shikamaru in the chest, sending skidding backwards on the ground. "Using the right amount of decibels and controlling its direction with my chakra, I can incapacitate my opponents before they even know what happened, just like you are now. There's no way for you to dodge it, and once it hits, you won't be able to move for…well, long enough," he said chucking as he began to walk forward toward Shikamaru.

"…Your buddy," Shikamaru said, looking up at his approaching enemy. "He knew who Sasuke was…how?"

For a moment, Dosu merely looked down at Shikamaru wordlessly. Finally, he drew back his overly long sleeve on his right arm, revealing the kunai that he was holding.

"Those who are about to die don't need to worry about such things," he said, preparing to attack. Suddenly, he turned around and his kunai clashed against another's and it flew away out of his hand. Dodging the next jab, Dosu grabbed Ino by the arm and threw her at Shikamaru.

The blonde kunoichi didn't waste time cursing that her surprise attack had failed. Instead, she grabbed Shikamaru and began dragging him back to the base of the tree where Hinata was.

"Sorry, Dosu," Kin said, appearing beside him. "She got away before I could stop her. She's faster than she looks."

"No matter," Dosu replied, cocking his head to the side as he continued to watch Ino desperately drag Shikamaru's body back to the tree. "This has become pathetic. I believe it's time to end this, don't you?"

"Yes, I do," someone replied deeply. Someone that wasn't Kin...

Dosu was suddenly hit in the side of the head, sending him spiraling backwards from the force of the blow. Looking up, he had enough time to see Kin get punched in the stomach and thrown at him, with her landing directly on top of him.

The bandaged Genin began to rise back to his feet, looking at his attacker in a combination of fear and wonder. In front of him stood Uchiha Sasuke, enveloped in what looked like a purple fire, black markings spreading throughout his body.

"Wh…what is this?" Dosu asked in wonder, taking a step backwards in fright. Before he could react, Sasuke was in front of him again, attacking with such speed that Dosu could hardly believe. As soon as Kin was about to react, Sasuke turned back to her, his Sharingan shining in his eyes. The next thing she knew, his hand was at the back of her head, driving her face into the ground with all of his might.

"Not so cocky when the tables have turned, are you?" Sasuke asked, a malicious smile spreading across his face, rubbing her face into the dirt.

"Is that…really Sasuke-kun?" Ino asked back under the tree, watching Sasuke just as fearfully as Dosu. "I've never seen him move that fast before. And he seems…so cruel."

Hinata looked on with the same look of dread on Ino's face. She looked back at Naruto, seeing is face still in pain.

"Naruto-kun," she pleaded, grabbing his hand. "Please wake up…please. We need your help…"

* * *

"_Just die!"_

_Naruto's hands covered his ears, pushing against his head so hard that his head ached in pain. This couldn't be real, none of it made sense at all! None of this could ever happen. Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Iruka-sensei…they wouldn't do this to him!_

"_No one cares about you!" Sasuke yelled, grabbing Naruto's arm and forcing him to look up at him. "You deserve to be killed!"_

"_Then why don't you do it then?!" Naruto screamed. Suddenly, the entire crowed went silent, and the only sound that could be heard was Naruto's small sobs. Suddenly, a soft clang sounded in the air. Naruto opened his eyes and saw a kunai resting right in front of him._

"_We can't."_

_Naruto looked up at the new voice and his breathing stopped when he saw who it was. Hinata stood in front of him, looking exactly the same as she did when they had first met when they were in the academy together. The rest of the crowed suddenly seemed to have become nonexistent to Naruto. All that he knew was Hinata in front of him, glaring at him with the same hate as everyone else._

"_We can't kill you, no matter how much we'd like to," she said, the scorn in her voice not seeming to fit with her petite body. "We're required by law to not lay a finger on you and you know that…but there is no law about you. Just do the world a favor and rid yourself from it. Only you can do it."_

_For a moment, Naruto just looked up at Hinata and stared, not believing his ears. Slowly, he reached out and grasped the kunai, looking down at it in his hands. He could make it be over in a second…he had been taught how to make a swift and painless kill before in the academy after all. Then he wouldn't have to deal with so much pain anymore…it would all be over._

"_Just do it," Hinata said, turning away and showing her back to him._

_Naruto looked one last time down at the kunai and began to raise it up toward his throat. Closing his eyes, he felt the cold steel touch his skin. One swift stroke…that was all he needed._

"Naruto-kun."

_The blonde's cerulean eyes snapped open, looking around him. He knew that he had heard a voice. Closing his eyes, he listened, trying to find out where it had come from…trying to find the source of it._

"Please help…Naruto-kun…"

"_Hinata-chan," Naruto said, a single tear falling down his face as a smile slowly appeared._

"_What are you doing?" the small Hinata asked, looking back at Naruto. "Why haven't you done it already?"_

"…_Because none of you exist," Naruto said, standing back up to his feet and looking at the people in front of him. The crowed once again became silent, and Naruto's smile widened even more. "This is all in my head. I know my friends…they'd never treat me like this! You actually think you can fool me? Let me tell you, the future Hokage will never be fooled so easily!"_

"_You think you can become Hokage?! You?!" Hinata yelled angrily. "We'll never accept you. All you are is a monster! A demon! You'll never be a part of us!"_

_This time, a chuckle escaped Naruto's lips. "See, that's exactly why I know you're not Hinata. I know Hinata-chan, and she is the most kind, sincere, and greatest person I've ever met. She would never talk to me like this…So all of you can just get lost!"_

_Naruto took the kunai that was in his hand and threw it right at the center of Hinata's face. Just before it made contact, everything around him shattered, and he fell into a void of darkness. He was not afraid though, and continued to smile the same fox smile that he was always known for. He knew where he was going. He was going home…back to his true friends._

* * *

Shikamaru watched silently as Sasuke continued to pummel the Oto nins as if they were small children. Every technique that they used, every team attack they attempted, Sasuke retaliated with an even more punishing attack, each one sharing the same maliciousness each time.

The Genin genius had to admit that he had never really liked Sasuke, but he also admitted that he had respected him for a long time due to his skill at the academy. But this…he wasn't even sure that even these people even deserved what Sasuke was doing. The scariest part was that Sasuke seemed to be doing nothing more than toying with them…and enjoying it. If he were to actually get serious, who knew what he would be capable of doing.

"What's wrong with him…?" Ino asked with her hand over her mouth in horror. "There's something wrong with him, there has to be!"

"Whatever the reason is…there's nothing we can do right now," Shikamaru grunted from his spot on the ground.

"You're such a lazy ass, Shikamaru…" The three Genin jumped together in surprise as they looked over at Naruto, who was now struggling to rise to his feet.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata shouted in surprise. If she wasn't so sore, she would have embraced him. Naruto though looked over at her and grabbed her hand, holding it tight to her surprise.

"Thanks for watching over me while I was out, Hinata-chan," he said while closing his eyes in a soft smile. Just like so many times before, Hinata turned her eyes away from Naruto and flushed, though a small smile remained on her face still.

Suddenly, Naruto let go of her hand and bolted out from under their tree before any of them could stop him. Running as fast as he could, he charged forward and positioned himself in front of Sasuke, holding his arms out to his sides to stop him from passing. For a moment, the two just stood there, watching the other. Cerulean eyes meeting red eyes.

"Move, Naruto," Sasuke commanded, though he already began walking around him.

"Knock it off, Sasuke," Naruto replied, grabbing Sasuke by the arm to stop him. "These guys have learned their lesson…just let them go. There's no reason for us to fight anymore."

Sasuke turned his head over at Naruto, showing that much of his face was now covered in black markings. "I don't know how long you've been awake, Naruto, but just a moment ago they were trying to kill us. And you want me to just let them go free? I have the power now to make them pay now," he said, grasping his hand and holding it up to his face and smiling. "Don't you see what kind of gift we've been given?! You have it as well! With this…we can defeat anyone!"

"But remember who gave us this 'gift'?" Naruto asked sternly. "That monster who was trying to kill all of us…including you and your teammates. Can't you tell that this power seems…wrong somehow?" For another moment, the two Genin stared at each other, motionless.

"Don't give into the same kind of darkness as _he_ did…" Naruto whispered, giving his friend a nod of reassurance. A moment passed, and then slowly, the black markings around Sasuke's body began to recede, collecting to the black seal that was on his neck. Finally, the marks completely vanished, and Sasuke fell to the ground, breathing deeply.

"Dosu…" Kin asked, attempting to stand back to her feet but failing. "What…was that power? I've never seen anything like it before. It was unreal." With that said she fell unconscious and did not speak again.

Dosu looked back at her, finally able to rise to his feet. He knew that power…he knew it well actually. He had experienced its power first hand in a battle that nearly ended his life, the day that he foolishly challenged one of the Sound Four in a battle to take his spot. He had challenged Jirobo, the supposed "weakest" of the group. For a time, he thought that he could win the battle. Then Jirobo went into the "first state" as he called it. The next thing he knew, he was in the Oto medical building a week later.

Now, here was the same power, right here in front of him. From some Konoha nin punk! And what's more, there was only one way to receive the seal…or rather there was only one person who could give it.

"So many new questions," Dosu muttered, though his voice still reached Naruto and Sasuke's ears in the silence, as they turned toward him. "You are definitely strong, Uchiha," he said kneeling down to pick up Kin, then slowly walking over to Zaku to pick him up as well. "It seems we have underestimated you, but do not think the same will happen again." With a grunt, he rose to his feet after picking up Zaku and looked directly at Sasuke. "I'll only warn you once. We are here in this exam for the soul purpose to kill you. Do not think that we will give up so easily," he said, turning to leave.

"Wait!" Sasuke called, making Dosu stop. "Who sent you to kill me? Why do I matter so much?"

At first, Dosu didn't answer, but turned around once looking back at him. "We were ordered by our master to see you dead. I would tell you who he is, but it seems you have already met him. How else would you have that mark?"

Both Naruto and Sasuke stiffened in surprise, but before they could ask the Oto nin anymore, he ran off into the forest, out of sight in seconds. Another minute went by and the two Konoha Genin remained silent, looking down at the ground, not knowing what to say.

"Naruto! Sasuke-kun!"

The two turned around quickly as Ino ran up to them, looking frantic.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked.

At first, Ino looked as if she was about to hug Sasuke in relief, but then shook her head and pointed back at the base of the tree. "There's no time! It's Shino. I-I don't know what to do!"

Sasuke and Naruto at first stood there in surprised silence, but then ran to the base of the tree, where Hinata was kneeling over Shino in worry while Shikamaru could do nothing else but try to sit up as his body had not yet recovered from Dosu's attack.

At first, Naruto found nothing wrong with him. His breathing looked fine, though perhaps a little slow, and his face didn't show any sort of pain at all on his face. Then, he noticed something strange. Bugs were beginning to crawl out of his jacket and out around them. He looked around him and already saw that many were now crawling up the tree away from them. He looked over at Sasuke in confusion and saw Sasuke's eyes widened in apprehension before he kneeled down as well to look over Shino.

"Why are all of those bugs coming out of Shino's coat?" Naruto asked, looking at Ino.

"…Shino told us that when he was born, his family made a contract for him with those bugs that he uses. Apparently, they help him in battle and in return, they feed off of his chakra and house themselves in his body," Ino said, watching as more and more of Shino's insects continued to leave him.

"So why are they leaving?" Shikamaru asked.

"…He also said, a couple weeks after we became Genin, that if the insects don't see him as a worthy host, they leave," Sasuke said. "But there is also second reason. It's when the body can no supply enough chakra to sustain the insects that reside in it. In other words, when the host dies.

Naruto's mouth dropped slightly at Sasuke's words, looking back at Shino with the same alarm as Sasuke and Ino.

"Do any of you know any medical jutsu?" Ino asked frantically. "Anything at all?"

"…Kakashi-sensei hasn't even mentioned medical jutsu since he's been teaching us," Shikamaru said closing his eyes in regret. "I doubt he even knows even a few of them himself."

"…So there isn't anything we can do," Ino said, her shoulders going limp as she looked hopelessly at her teammate.

For a few seconds, none of them said a word. Suddenly, Naruto knelt down and put his right hand on Shino's chest. "Well if it's chakra that he needs, then I guess we'll just have to give it too him."

"Hold on, dobe," Sasuke interrupted. "We don't even know if that's why he is dieing. And even if he is because he's running out of chakra, it would take a ton to actually keep him alive. You actually think you can give him enough to-"

"I have the most chakra of all of us here, that's how I can make so many Kage Bushins," Naruto said as he closed his eyes in concentration, trying to think back to the tree climbing exercises that he did in the Land of Waves. Slowly, his hands began to shine blue, though it was unlike usual green hue that would show when performing medical jutsu.

"Come on, Shino," Naruto said, gritting his teeth. Somehow, Hinata's words had reached him when he was knocked out. Maybe he could bring Shino back the same way. "Don't give up on us now, your team needs you."

Shino's eyes seemed to tighten up slightly, as if he was having a bad dream. This also seemed to cause his breathing to become only slower, and Naruto could feel Shino's heartbeat do the same from under his hand.

"Don't you dare give in, Shino," Naruto said louder now. "I know that you may feel hopeless right now, but you can't give in. You said earlier that you hate to leave things unfinished. Don't let yourself be finished now!"

"Come on, Shino," Ino said. For a moment, Naruto could have sworn that Shino's heart began to stop slowing.

"You said when we first became a team that you would defeat me someday," Sasuke said next. "We haven't even had a serious match yet. Don't disappoint me by dieing now."

Hinata's mouth dropped open after Sasuke finished, but Naruto only smiled. It was probably the only thing that Sasuke could think of anyways. If there was one thing Sasuke was _not _good at, it was words. But Naruto could feel it having affect. Shino's eyes were now squeezed tight, and a light purple aura had begun to slip out from under his large coat.

"You're not alone like you think, Shino," Naruto said firmly. "We're here with you, so come back to us…"

Suddenly, Shino's face began to relax and the purple aura died out. For a moment nothing happened. Then, slowly, Shino opened his eyes, looking up at all of them.

"About time you woke up," Naruto said smiling, removing his hand from Shino's chest.

Shino continued to lie on his back, looking up at the people around him one by one.

"…Thank you," he said softly, before closing his eyes again.

Ino sucked in her breath in alarm, but Shikamaru put his hand on her shoulder in comfort. "Don't worry," he said. "He's only passed out. Give him a couple hours and he'll be fine."

"You know, that doesn't sound like half a bad idea," Naruto said, before he closed his eyes as well and fell on his back, spread eagle on the ground.

"Well, that's really great," Shikamaru said rolling his eyes. "He sleeps all night long, wakes up for a grand total of ten minutes, then goes back to sleep again. And people complain about me being lazy…"

Sasuke chuckled at Shikamaru. "Well, he did just use a lot of his chakra for Shino. But don't worry, you three can get some rest too. I'll keep watch for the next couple of hours."

"Um…Sasuke-kun," Ino said nervously. "Shouldn't you rest a little bit more? You…kind of overexerted yourself out there…I think."

"Don't worry about me," he said, sitting down and looking out into the forest. "I'm fine. And besides, I don't think I could get to sleep anyways…"

Hinata, Shikamaru, and Hinata looked at each other in slight understanding. Whatever happened to Sasuke, it must not have been a pleasant experience. Without saying another word, each of them lay down onto the forest floor and allowed themselves to receive some much needed sleep.

When Sasuke was sure that all of them were asleep, his hand slowly went up to his throbbing neck. What exactly was this thing that he…Orochimaru…put on him? Not only him, but he did the same to Naruto and Shino. Was it to kill them? Test them? Or was it what Sasuke had thought only moments ago, a gift that was intended to be a reward for fighting so well. What was going on? There were so many things that he didn't know…and it was beginning to really piss him off.

All night long, Sasuke's mind wandered though these same questions over and over again, until he too was overtaken by exhaustion and fell to sleep.

* * *

_Eh…I'm not sure if I'm pleased with this chapter or not. But I am pleased that I've finally gotten through it. I plan on putting one more "Forest of Death" chapter in before beginning the prelims. I'll probably be able to get the intro thing done for it also. And for everyone who's disappointed with not seeing Naruto's seal activating, don't worry. I've got many ideas in my head next chapter. I'll do my best to make sure that you aren't disappointed._

_Heheheh, a lot of you actually thought I was going to kill off Shino here. Funny. That'd be a waste of good plot. Don't breathe your sigh of relief though. The character that will die will probably make you even more pissed than you would have been if Shino had died here. Anyways…I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I actually had to cut out quite a bit to keep it "down". Well I guess until the next chapter, have a good one everybody! And happy (insert holiday of choice here) also!_

_GAZ_


	19. The Second Scroll

_Hmm…two months update…damn. Sorry guys, a combination of laziness, writers block, and the unexpected distraction by the name of Super Smash Bros Brawl are the reasons why all of this took so long to come out. To be honest, I really didn't want this chapter to end up as long as it ended up. I was just hoping for a quick 6000 word chapter perhaps and get it over with…I ended up twice that number. XD Anyways, I'm sorry about the long wait, but have no fear! The last chapter of the Forest of Death is finally here! Please, enjoy._

_Special thanks to Isran DarkStrider for betaing this chapter. I owe you one bud!_

_Don't own Naruto, anime, or MasakoX (aka the epitome of awesome) heheheh _

* * *

"Well then," Sarutobi Asuma said, lifting up his glass of beer in his hand and raising it toward both the red eyed woman beside him and the masked silver haired man across from him, "now that each of us actually have a moment of peace and quite for once after three months, I propose that we take full advantage of the situation." With one last smile, he downed half of the mug and slammed the cup on the table.

"Asuma, don't you think that you're being a little _too _light hearted," Kurenai asked, crossing her arms and looking absentmindedly out of the widow to her right. "What if I was too soft on them during training? After all, I'm sure that Sakura could have learned a little more Taijutsu…and Choji still needs to work on his endurance…"

"Oh calm down, Kurenai," Asuma said, placing one of his hands on her slender shoulder in comfort. "I'm sure that you did an excellent job training your team. You were always great with kids when you helped out the Chunin at the academy whenever they had their hands full." A light blush appeared on Kurenai's face at Asuma's words. "Not to mention you're probably too much of a worry wart to actually miss training them on something."

The embarrassed smile that had been on the Genjutsu specialist's face suddenly disappeared and she looked away, suddenly becoming more preoccupied with looking at a passing bread cart salesman with nothing more than a lantern to light his way that night.

"Smooth," Kakashi said from across from the two suspected lovers. "You definitely have some ways to go before you know everything about women, Asuma...Actually, I may be able to help you out a bit. I have this great book that I could recommend to you," he said as he pulled out a pocket sized orange book from his weapon's pouch.

"Don't even think about it, Kakashi," Kurenai said in such a threatening voice that even the famous Copy Nin of Konoha felt slightly uneasy, deciding it was best to pocket his latest copy of Icha Icha Paradise Volume 9 second edition with twenty extra pages for later.

"Fine," Kakashi said shrugging, though he gave a wink to the bearded Jonin across from him…though it proved difficult to hide due to the fact that only one of his eyes was actually visible.

"Men," Kurenai finally said, rolling her eyes. "Don't you two have any decency? I suppose I can understand why you're so relaxed, Asuma, having the most talented students from the academy on your team and all…"

The Sarutobi took another swig of his beer before looking back at Kurenai. "Now don't get so angry at me. Of course I'm worried about them, what decent teacher wouldn't be worried about their Genin team during the Chunin Exams?"

"But they were the best in their class," Kurenai said with raised eyebrows and not noticing Kakashi once again taking out his "novel" and beginning to read it from underneath the table. "I would think that you wouldn't have anything to worry about with their skills. Each of them was the highest ranking in the academy, if I remember correctly."

"Oh don't get me wrong," Asuma said setting down his mug and crossing his arms. "Those kids are the real deal, especially Sasuke. Now that's a kid who is worthy of the name Uchiha. Each of them is talented. But…"

"Yes?" Kakashi asked, looking up from his book.

Asuma let out a long sigh before rubbing his head slightly, wishing that Kurenai hadn't forbidden him from smoking during their meeting that night. "It seems that the one thing that I couldn't get into each their thick skulls is team unity and all. I mean their teamwork itself is nothing to laugh at or anything, but they seem to have a trust issue. Sure, Ino would gladly put her life in Sasuke's hands, but she hardly even looks at Shino unless she needs to. And…well Shino is the kind of person that really doesn't ask for help. I don't know if it's because he believes it's a weakness or if he just prefers to work alone. And…well Sasuke is the kind of person who wouldn't even accept help. He always seems to be complaining about the other two on the team. He's good, but he probably needs to learn the most about teamwork of the three."

"I thought that he would be better at that since he and Naruto spent so much time doing pranks together," Kakashi said leaning back. "Naruto talks about him often in our group. Maybe he changes when he's around him and Hinata, I don't know. I've heard rumors that he does have a bit of an ego though."

Kurenai sighed and closed her red eyes before slightly opening them again, looking worried. "Well, I can't help but worry a lot about my team. Kiba and Choji have a kind of friendly rivalry between the two of them. Though Kiba spends most of our training and missions on making fun of Choji, I still think that he's only doing out of mere fun. The two do get along well every now and again. And…" This time, a small smile appeared on Kurenai's face.

"What's so funny?" Asuma asked, raising his eyebrows in confusion.

"Oh, it just seems that one of my students have grown a crush on the female member of our group…" she said with a small chuckle.

"Who?" Asuma asked, sounding surprised. "Is it the Akimichi or Inuzuka."

"It's Kiba," Kurenai said, still smiling. "He's constantly trying to impress her during training and complimenting her. I'm sure that Choji has caught on to it also. I think the only reason that Sakura doesn't know about it is because she's constantly brooding over how Ino is on the same team as 'her Sasuke-kun'."

"Weren't those two friends once?" Asuma asked. "Ino is the same way when it comes to Sakura, always talking down about her and all. Though Sakura may have the edge on her in brains, I think that Ino may be a little farther along in her Taijutsu and Ninjutsu."

"Oh, but that's the opposite of what I've been teaching Sakura," Kurenai said. "I think the academy put her on my team for a reason. It turns out that she's a natural at genjutsu. I've given her some basic ones and she perfected them in only a couple of weeks of training."

"Pretty good for a Genin," Kakashi said nodding. It seemed as though he was about to say something else, but it only came out as a loud choking noise as a large green arm suddenly wrapped around his neck in a "friendly" embrace.

"Well, if it isn't Kakashi," Gai said, taking the empty seat next to his rival as if the three had been waiting for him to arrive the entire time. "How is my eternal rival today? You seem to becoming slow, my old friend. I had you in my grasp before you could do anything!"

"Gai, it's a restaurant, not a battlefield," Asuma said with a slightly exasperated look on his face. Though he did respect Gai, who he was pretty sure even out classed him in Taijutsu, he had to admit that his spontaneous attitude sometimes seemed to be a little…unusual to say the least.

"A shinobi must always be prepared," Gai said, crossing his arms and nodding. "And speaking of being prepared, I do hope that your students are for the Chunin Exams, they're going to need it with my team participating in it this year!"

"Oh yeah," Kakashi said looking up as if he had only just remembered. "I forgot that you had a Genin team too. Guess it slipped my mind."

Gai seemed to only just barely stop himself from falling to the ground by placing his hand on the table in front of him. "Alright, I'll let that cool attitude of yours slide for now, Kakashi," the green clad Jonin said, recovering from the "attack". "But it doesn't matter either way. With Lee's speed, Neji's skill, and Tenten's mastery of weapons, there will be no stopping my team during these exams!"

"That is if their teamwork doesn't screw them up," Kakashi said, though this time his voice almost seemed serious. "No offence Gai, I know that you've tried your best with them. Seriously. It's just that those three just don't seem as though they can get along."

"Well…" Gai said trailing off, "I suppose that I must give you that one Kakashi. Each of them are phenomenal, yet I haven't been able to get them to trust each other yet as a team."

"Don't sweat about it too much, Gai," Asuma said. "I'm sure they'll be able to get through the second exam well enough. Anyways, I mean no offence or anything, but if there was a team that I'd be worried about right now it'd be yours, Kakashi."

The masked Jonin looked up at Asuma in slight surprise, leaning his head to the side in misunderstanding. "Really? I hadn't really thought about it," he said, raising his one visible eye to the ceiling in thought.

"Oh come now, be realistic, Kakashi," Kurenai said this time. "I'm surprised that you actually let them participate this year. Heck, _everyone_ was surprised that they even passed becoming Genin, let alone the fact that you let them participate in the Chunin Exams so early. We've all seen their scores in the academy and none of them seemed any special at all. Again, I don't mean any offence Kakashi, but do you really think that you made the correct decision?"

With a sigh, Kakashi closed his orange book and leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms and closing his one visible eye. "I'll admit," he started, "that the three of them aren't the most impressive Genin that have ever participated in the exam. I'll also admit that there are several things that each of them needs to improve on…" He trailed off for a second before he looked around at his fellow Jonins. "But I have faith in each of my students. And for now, that's all I have to say," he said before looking back down to his lap and opening up his book once again.

The Jonins around him had to admit that the speech that Kakashi had given them had ended up being a little anticlimactic, but they knew that there was probably little they could do now to get anything else out of him.

All three of the Jonin's eyes suddenly darted to the side of the table that was away from the window. No more than a second later, an ANBU agent with an owl's mask appeared by them, kneeling to them in respect.

"Well, this is definitely a surprise," Kakashi said with a sigh and pocketing his book, realizing now that there was little chance for him to continue at this point. "I didn't expect to see an ANBU agent until the exams are over. I thought most of you were off on missions about now."

"I'm sorry to interrupt," the deep voiced shinobi said standing up to full height again and placing his hand on his side. "But the Hokage has called an emergency meeting and everyone who is able to is required to come."

The Jonins at the table exchanged surprised looks before turning back to their new "guest".

"Well, are you just going to stand there or are you at least going to tell us what's happened?" Asuma asked.

The masked ninja seemed to hesitate a moment before continuing. "It seems…" he said in a whisper so that only the Jonin at the table could hear him, "that Anko-san has met up with one of her former senseis." The man made one single hand seal before disappearing out of sight, leaving the speechless Jonins alone once again.

* * *

High above the treetops of the Forest of Death, the stars shone brightly down on the landscape, with only the small light that the less than half moon adding to them, not hindering any of their luster. For a moment, Naruto just stood on the high branch of the tree he was on and listened to the chirping of crickets and the sounds of all the wildlife around him. It felt so peaceful here, so much unlike all he and his team had had to go through for the last two days. He breathed in the cool air and closed his cerulean eyes, taking in all that was around him.

The blonde suddenly took in a sharp breath of air as the mark on his neck suddenly erupted in quick and violent pain. Naruto cursed silently to himself, thinking to himself that there must have been a way for him to save himself along with Shino and Sasuke so they wouldn't have to deal with this damn thing. Whatever that person…Orochimaru put on them, it wasn't good. The maniacal look in Sasuke's eyes when he had fought of the Oto-nin was just…unnatural, dark…evil, though Naruto already knew plenty about evil power. From somewhere inside of him, Naruto could swear that something let out a low rumble…almost like a growl.

With a sigh, he took off down the body of the great tree he was on at a slow jog. Stopping on the lowest branch, he softly let himself fall to the forest floor and straightened up, landing in the in between Hinata and Shikamaru who were facing Sasuke's team.

"Coast is all clear," he said, giving each of them the thumbs up sign. "I looked around for ten minutes on top of that tree and didn't see or hear anything around. Besides, wouldn't everybody be resting now that it's dark?"

"If we're lucky," Shikamaru said darkly. "Some teams may be hoping to get in a surprise attack while its dark, but I think we're safe for the moment. We'll take your word for it."

"Well then," Shino said, looking at Hinata, Naruto, and Shikamaru in turn, "I suppose that this is where we will part for now."

Sasuke shrugged and gave his best friend across from him a cocky grin. "That's too bad. I was looking forward to finishing the battle I was winning with you, dobe. Guess that you get off easy this time." For a moment, the Uchiha took a moment to look over the three teammates in front of him. The three seemed so much different from when they had all left the academy. He hadn't ever imagined Naruto ever changing his orange jumpsuit attire because of his stubbornness, but now he was wearing "official Hyuuga colors". Hinata had chosen to leave her coat behind after she had ripped it apart to use it as a bandage for her hand, and she looked almost strange without it on. And Shikamaru still did not have his hair tied back into his usual ponytail, his black hair falling down the side of his face almost all the way down to his shoulders.

"Oh hell no!" Naruto yelled, pointing at Sasuke angrily, snapping the prodigy from his brooding. "_I _was the one winning that battle and you know it, Sasuke! Don't you remember my futon jutsu blowing you back and then sneaking up on you while a Kage Bushin distracted you? Well if you don't, I'm sure your ass does from when I kicked it so hard!"

"Okay, enough," Shikamaru said covering his teammate's mouth and sighing irritably. "Keep yelling that loudly and you'll have every team coming after us in no time."

"Yeah but…" Hinata suddenly spoke up, looking over at Shino. The bug user lifted his right eyebrow in question, staying silent for Hinata to continue. "When you were knocked out Shino-san…um, Ino and I saw all of your bugs…crawl out of your jacket and into the forest. Have they…come back yet?"

"Unfortunately, no," Shino said, closing his hazel eyes. "At the moment that my body was not able to supply enough chakra for my insects, the pact was broken and they left me. But you don't have to worry about me and my team. There are plenty of other insects in the forest that can assist me for the rest of the exam. After that, all I need to do is form another contract that is in my clan and it will be as if nothing had ever happened…to be honest, I had been wanting to ask my father if I could try out one of his beetle contracts for a long time now. So I suppose that now would be the best time more than any." If it wasn't for Shino's high collar that was covering his mouth, Naruto could have sworn that the Aburame was smiling in excitement.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that you'll be okay," Naruto said, nodding at Shino with a friendly smile. "Just make sure that you three make it to the next exam. We wouldn't want you to feel bad watching us three making Chunins while you guys wait at home."

Ino let out a loud sniff and tossed her head back. "Please, if anything, you guys are going to need the luck. So…good luck. Don't get in over your heads." For the first time, Ino looked at the three across from her with a new found respect. Each of them had progressed beyond Ino's wildest expectations when she had left the academy. If Sakura hadn't already called the position, she might have been inclined to call Hinata her rival. And Naruto…who would have thought that the same goofy blonde she had always known could actually progress enough to go toe to toe with Sasuke?

For a moment, Naruto looked over at Ino in surprise, but the kunoichi only turned her eyes away in a slightly embarrassed frown. Naruto couldn't help but smile and look over at Hinata, who had a similar look on her face. It turned out that Ino wasn't as much of a snot as he had always believed she was.

"Well, we'll see you at the tower," Naruto said, giving one last smile to his best friend and new found friends.

"Naruto…"

The group went silent for a second, all eyes turning to Shino curiously. The bug user had his eyes closed and his head tilted to the ground, then opened them back up and looked up to the sky, looking kind of confused and awkward.

"I…just wanted to thank you for helping me," Shino said quickly, finally looking at Naruto again. "So…thank you."

Again, a surprised smile crossed Naruto's lips. "No problem, Shino. What are friends for, anyways?" The two Genin looked at each other respectfully for a brief moment, and Shino gave the blonde a nod in appreciation.

"See you later, Hinata, dobe," Sasuke said to each of his friends. With that, the two teams jumped off into different directions of each other, Naruto's team going east and Sasuke's going west.

Together, Naruto and Hinata looked back behind them, but Sasuke's team had already gone out of sight.

"You think they'll be alright?" Hinata asked, looking over at Naruto.

For a moment, Naruto remained silent, still looking back behind him. Then, he smiled softly before turning his head forward again. "Yeah, I'm sure. We don't have to worry about them now. Let's just focus on getting our other scroll for now."

"Finally, something intelligent to come out of your mouth," Shikamaru said with a chuckle. The blonde stuck out his tongue at his lazy teammate and they continued into the forest, preparing for their next challenge.

* * *

"Sheesh," Naruto said, lazily tossing a rock over his head while lying on his back, listening to the combination of the fire cooking their breakfast and the calm flow of the stream beside him. "You'd think after the hell we had to go through in the first couple of hours in this exam, it would be a lot easier to find another team."

Shikamaru let out a low grunt in acknowledgement while he stood motionlessly above the stream. His shirt was off due to the heat, revealing the dark brown bruise that was just below his right chest, no doubt the place where the giant snake days before had crushed him into a tree and also where he suspected he might have broken a rib. Though it didn't hurt as badly anymore when he breathed, a mere twist of his body sent a painful shock through his body.

Suddenly, Shikamaru's hands went into his trademark seal and his shadow shot out from behind him and into the water. With an accomplished smile, he bent down and grabbed the fish that he had captured and tossing it over to Naruto.

"I don't think you should bother," Naruto said, tossing the flailing fish back at Shikamaru. "All we've been eating for the last four days have been wild berries and these fish, which I might add don't taste that good in the first place…What I wouldn't do to get myself some ramen!" the blonde whined, letting out an exasperated sigh.

"There's only one day left of the exam," Hinata spoke up, taking another bite out of her now fully cooked fish. Although she had been at first hesitant about eating something that had only been alive just before, her hunger had eventually won over her and she was forced to eat. "We can go to Ichiraku Ramen when we get back."

"Don't forget though, we're not through this exam yet," Shikamaru said, tossing his newly caught fish over his shoulder into the stream and putting on his fishnet shirt along with his signature gray vest. He had finally used a strand of wire from his weapons pouch to put up his hair again, relieved to finally be able to see clearly in front of him again. "If anything, this may be the most troublesome part of the exam…"

Naruto sighed, realizing that this was going to be another "smart Shikamaru moments". "And why is that?" he asked, rolling his eyes at his teammate.

Shikamaru looked over at Naruto, his eyes slightly narrowing in suspicion. Ever since the blonde had awoken after his battle with Orochimaru, he had been slightly more on edge lately. His sarcastic comments toward Shikamaru were becoming more and more frequent and his impatience had become even worse than before. For the most part, Naruto had always just given Shikamaru a hard time just for the fun of it, or so the Genin genius had come to conclude. But now…something had seemed to put him on edge more than he had usually been. Shikamaru could tell that he wasn't the only one worried. Hinata was constantly looking over at Naruto when he wasn't, but not in her usual crush way, but as if she was continuously checking up on him to see if he was alright.

"Well," Shikamaru said, deciding to brush it off for the time being, "though it's true that half the teams are able to pass the exam, there's probably a large chance that most of them are in the exact situation we're in. Though it may be hard to believe at this point, finding another team is not as easy as it sounds in this forest. It's a big place and you also have a fifty percent chance of fighting another team but only getting the same scroll that you had before. In other words, they're probably tired, frustrated, and perhaps more dangerously desperate. Just like us, they're going to be looking frantically for a scroll to get to the next part of the exam. So we need a plan."

"Alright, what do you got?" Naruto asked.

Slightly thankful that Naruto had decided to keep his sarcasm to a minimum that morning, Shikamaru grabbed a stick and knelt down beside his teammates. Using the stick, he drew a large circle in the dirt with a small circle in the middle, adding a long line that cut across the circle.

"This is the forest," he said, jabbing his stick at his drawing. "And this is the tower that is in the center. Judging by the distance that we are from the tower…and the map that the proctor showed us just before we started the exam…" he said, putting his hand over his eyes so he could look in the distance and shield them from the sun. Naruto followed Shikamaru's gaze. Only the very tip of the tower was visible from where they currently were. They hadn't even come close to it yet since they started the exam. "I'd say we're about here," he said, pointing at about the halfway point from the right most part of the circle and the tower in the center.

"You actually remember what the map looks like?" Naruto asked, scratching his head.

"Well someone had to," Shikamaru said sighing, he always hated being interrupted. "Anyways, back to what I was saying before. Where do you think the most likely location is to get a scroll…?"

"Hey, don't look at me," Naruto said, waving his hands at Shikamaru. "I'm just trying to keep up with you for right now."

Hinata closed her violet eyes, concentrating hard. "…Could it be at the place where they are going to end up?"

"Bingo," Shikamaru said with a smile, drawing another circle, this time around the "tower" in the center. "On these final days, the best place to find another team, and a scroll, would be at the tower. Everyone is going to be waiting there, hoping to find another team that has a scroll and taking it for themselves. Not only that, but if they corner a team that had gotten both of their scrolls, then they got the one they need no matter what. So in other words, we're going to be heading for the tower before we have our other scroll today."

"Oh, I get it," Naruto said, nodding in understanding. "So we just head over there and kick some team's asses and get to the tower in less than five minutes. We might even have enough time to get my ramen before the next part!"

The blonde drew back quickly as Shikamaru took his stick and hit Naruto on the head with it. It wasn't hard at all, but it still caught Naruto off guard.

"Not so fast, Naruto," Shikamaru said. "We're not going to be the only ones planning this. Other teams are going to be there and are going to try and sneak up on _us_. This is going to be the most difficult part of the exam. If we're going to have time, we'll have to head out now, but we're not going to tire ourselves sprinting over there as fast as we can. We're going to need to keep our energy up now more than ever. After all, this is going to be our final battle for this part of the exam, for better or for worse."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto said, rubbing his matted blonde head. "Whatever you say, Shikamaru. You're the smart one. Just promise me to not hit me in the head again."

"I make no promises," Shikamaru said, letting out a small chuckle before throwing the stick in his hand back to the ground. "I'll start formulating a plan while we're on our way. So, are you guys ready?"

"No problem, Shika," Naruto said, hoping to his feet. "This is going to be a piece of cake!"

Shikamaru let out another sigh at his teammate's over loud excitement. He just hoped that he could keep that much energy for their battle. Though after what they had gone through in only the first day inside the forest, he doubted that there would be anything that could probably surprise them now.

Simultaneously, Team Seven leapt across the stream and into the trees, heading for the tower.

* * *

As silently as possible, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Naruto slowly made their way through the forest, looking around warily with every step they took. In the front was Shikamaru, then behind him Naruto, and finally Hinata. Shikamaru had assigned each of them a certain direction that they were to look in. Though the Nara could hear Naruto's grunts of annoyance with the speed we're going, he tried his best to ignore them and pressed on.

"Hey, Shikamaru," Naruto whispered. Shikamaru let out a low grunt to show he was listening, thankful enough that Naruto had had the common sense to keep his voice down. "Do we really _have_ to go this slowly? We've been going this speed for thirty minutes. I don't even think there is anybody around."

"Don't worry about that, there are," Shikamaru whispered back, keeping his eyes alert. "And we'd better find them soon," he said, looking up at the now dark blue sky above their heads. "Soon it'll be completely dark, and we'll be sitting ducks for an ambush. And back to your previous question," he said, holding out his arm to stop the two behind him. "Yes, we do have to go this slowly, and this is exactly why."

Bending down, Shikamaru pointed down at a small wire that was barely visible in the dim light around them. Naruto hadn't even seen it when they were walking. His head slowly followed the string and pointed into the bushes to their right. From within the bushes, Naruto could now see the faint glint of the kunais that were hidden behind the leaves.

"Traps?" Hinata asked.

"That's right," Shikamaru replied, carefully stepping over the wire. "After all, why get into a fight when you can just set a trap and let them die on their own. Luckily for us, this one wasn't put together very well, but now their going to get harder to spot as we keep going. So we're going the same speed…"

Naruto glanced from the wire and then back to the bush and nodded, stepping over the wire cautiously with Hinata.

"Good, let's go," Shikamaru said, nodding. He took a step and his heart seemed to stop. As soon as he was done taking the step, the ground beneath him began to crackle beneath them…

"Paper bomb!" Shikamaru yelled as quickly as he could to warn his teammates. The Nara immediately jumped to the side and shielded his eyes with Hinata jumping in the same direction and Naruto jumping somewhere else. He silently cursed at his foolishness. He couldn't believe that he didn't see through such a simple maneuver. The first trap was merely a distraction, while the second one was set for them while their guard was off.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelled, trying to look through the dust around them that was caused by the explosion. Shikamaru immediately covered her mouth with her hand, using his other to put his finger up to his mouth in silence.

"We're not alone here," he whispered, inspecting the area that was around them.

"Help!" a voice unexpectedly yelled. From out of the dust, a black clad figure ran out, falling to the ground with his blonde hair in the dirt.

"Naruto!" Hinata shouted again in surprise, kneeling down. Suddenly, another figure grabbed Naruto and the two rolled on the ground, both of their fists flailing at the other. Together, Shikamaru and Hinata ran forward to aid their teammate.

"Stay back!" Naruto's voice suddenly yelled as one of them threw the other off of him. Shikamaru and Hinata suddenly froze. In front of them stood two Narutos, glaring at each other angrily. At first, Hinata thought that Naruto had crated a Kage Bushin, but then stopped when she looked closer one. Though he wore the same exact attire as Naruto, his blonde hair was a little too short for Naruto's, and his eyes were black instead of sapphire blue.

"He tried get close to us by pretending he was Naruto," Shikamaru said in understanding, reaching down to his kunai holster. The Naruto imposter now looked at each of the Genin in front of him cautiously, taking a step back but at the same time showing no sign of fear at all on his face. Then, the imposter did something that both confused and frightened each of the Konoha Genin at the same time…he smiled.

All at once, senbon flew out from the trees and at Naruto, Shikamaru, and Hinata. The three jumped back as quickly as they could, but were shocked to see the senbon suddenly change directions and shoot toward them once again.

"What the hell!" Naruto yelled, dodging yet another barrage of senbon.

"It must be someone that is hiding in the trees using some kind of jutsu to control its direction," Shikamaru said, jumping behind a tree so that the senbon that was following him stuck in with a soft thud. He cursed silently, abandoning his hiding spot as even more needles whipped around the tree. "Can we get a little help, Naruto?"

"Sure thing," the blonde said, already going through the seals required for his new jutsu. When done, green patches of wind suddenly began to swirl around his hands. "Get back you guys!" Naruto yelled, just as Shikamaru and Hinata darted behind him. "Futon: Oshi Heki no Jutsu!" Naruto closed his eyes and clapped his hands together and the small swirl of green aura suddenly exploded in front of him in a torrent of wind. The senbon flew straight into it, and were suddenly blown away and fell to the ground, no longer moving.

"I love multipurpose Jutsus," Naruto said breathing deeply, much to his surprise. Usually, he could do three Oshi Hekis without need to fear of draining himself. Now, he felt as though he had made about thirty Kage Bushins. Was his body still not recovered from his previous fight…? But that couldn't be. That had been over three days ago. Why would he still be feeling the effects of it?

"Hmm, I'm surprised that you were able to deflect my needles," a deep voice said. From beside the false Naruto, a tall, young man about that looked as though he was going into his twenties appeared with a very large umbrella slung over his shoulder. Two large scars ran up from the back of his neck and up to his right eye, forcing it to be closed shut along with two stitches on the right corner of his mouth, partially closed on that side as well. He had short, brown hair and also had a white cloth wrapped around his forehead like a bandana. He also wore at least four more umbrellas on his back. His looks alone would make any Genin think twice of messing with him. "Such a shame," he said, throwing his umbrella to the side, "I had been hoping to only need to waste one of my umbrellas to finish you all off."

To the right of the scared shinobi suddenly appeared another ninja. The first thing Naruto noticed was the circular hat that was on his head, clearly showing the symbol of Amekagure. His sleeves and sides were white with black lines going up them, but the middle front of his suit was black, going up and around his face, which seemed to have green face paint around his eyes, but his eyes themselves were completely black. Naruto then noticed the piece of metal that was wrapped around his upper half of the body, a small tube connected with it in the front and going around to his back. Now looking back at the apparent leader of the group, Naruto could now see that he too wore a similar one. The blonde had not noticed it since it had been partially hidden underneath his black cloak.

"They haven't run yet," the scared Genin's teammate said leaning his head to the side cockily. "These Konoha-nin must be as dumb as everyone say they are."

"Well we weren't dumb enough to fall for that lame Henge that your teammate preformed," Naruto yelled back pointing. The Naruto across from him winced and with a small "poof", undid his Henge. Though noticeably shorter than the other two, he wore the same sort of attire as his teammate with the green face paint, and also wore a metal contraption around him.

"Sorry, Shigure," the shorter member said to his taller teammate in the center, almost looking fearful at the man. "I didn't think they would catch on in time before I…"

"Well, you were wrong, Baiu," Shigure spat back, not even looking at the shorter shinobi. "Not surprising though, you never were any good at Henges. No matter though, these brats are dead anyways."

Shikamaru took a small step back, hoping to buy some more time to form a plan by keeping them talking. "You guys are pretty confident for a squad who also isn't inside the tower. I doubt you three are that tough…"

The Ame nin named Shigure grinned maliciously back before tossing his head back into a laugh. "How little you know, idiot. For your information, we've already gotten both of our scrolls. We've just decided to hang out here for a bit to thin out the competition…hey, you want to know what happened to the team we took our other scroll from? They were from Konoha just like you three…"

A sudden bolt of fear suddenly went through Naruto. Was it possible that these three had run into one of the other members of the Rookie Nine, or possibly even Lee's team? If that was true, then even Naruto knew that this was becoming an increasingly bleaker situation on their part.

"Well, Shikamaru," Naruto whispered to his teammate. "Got plan or anything to deal with these three jokers?"

"You actually think that we're going to give you three enough time to make a plan?!" Shigure yelled, apparently overhearing what Naruto had said.

The scarred Ame shinobi suddenly bolted forward at the three, taking out one of his umbrellas from his back as he ran. Pushing a secret lever, a short blade appeared out of the end of it and he swung it at the three, and the trio jumped opposite directions to avoid the attack.

"I'll take the small fry!" Shigure yelled at his teammates before jumping after Naruto. "You two finish of the other two."

"Sure thing," the taller of Shigure's two teammates shouted back before the two of them suddenly took the tubes that were connected to the metal device that wrapped around them. Surprisingly, water suddenly began pouring out of the tube and onto the ground. Next, the two pulled out a scroll each and slapped their open palms on it. Three copies of the two Genin each appeared beside them, large grins plastered on each of their faces. The next part confused both Hinata and Shikamaru the most. The two Ame Genins pulled out a kunai and slashed their copies down the backs, each of them dropping to the ground as only water.

"Summoned Mizu Bushins?" Shikamaru asked, not able to figure out why the two had disposed of them after only just summoning them.

The older Genins across from them suddenly began to go through the same exact hand seals as the other at the exact same speed. "Suiton: Mizu Yari no Jutsu!" the two yelled simultaneously. The water that was on the ground from both the Mizu Bushins and from their metal contraptions suddenly shot up into long, rope like strands of water, about eight of them floating into the air from where they were connected to the now large amount of water that had been accumulated on the ground. Suddenly, one of the water strands shot at Hinata and Shikamaru each, forcing them to jump away once again. Unfortunately, these attacks were only followed up by two more even faster ones, giving the two little time to dodge.

_The three of them are mid range fighters, _Shikamaru thought as he dodged another "whip" of water that cut halfway through the tree that he had been standing in front of. _They keep their enemies at bay with their jutsu and make it that there is no way for them to get close…_

In the high tree tops, Naruto dodged yet another punch from Shigure. In a flash, three shuriken were in each of his hands and threw them with deadly skill at his enemy. The older boy merely smiled though as he took the umbrella that was in his hand and opened it up with a quick flick of his hand, and the shuriken bounced off as if a rock had hit a metal wall.

"I'll admit that you're pretty fast and talented for a little squirt," Shigure said, closing the umbrella that was in his hand and replacing it in its proper place on its back. "But more than anything, you're just dumb. How long have you even been out of your pathetic academy here? Your sensei must be a complete idiot to have a squad like you three take part in this exam. This isn't for little kids you know."

Naruto growled angrily at the young man in front of him and glanced down for a quick second to check on Shikamaru and Hinata. For the moment, the two were doing fine, but they were slowly losing their edge as they dodged the Ame-nin's Jutsu. Each time they dodged, the water would come a small bit closer, and the jutsu was relentless. Taking a kunai out of his weapons pouch and gripping it tightly in his hand, Naruto realized that he would have to finish this fight with the leader quickly if he wanted to help his team.

The blonde haired Genin leapt forward, jumping high into the air and throwing his kunai directly at his opponent. Shigure almost lazily dodged it though and continued to stay motionless on his tree branch, waiting for Naruto. The blonde attempted a spin kick, but the attack was blocked easily and he was thrown away. Recovering and using the tree behind him to launch himself back at Shigure, Naruto again tried to land a hit with a few quick jabs, but all of them were blocked and dodged easily, all the while the Ame Genin kept the same sarcastic smile on his face.

_Guess I'll just have to wipe it clean off, _Naruto thought, going throw the required seals to perform his fire jutsu. He was about to take the large breath to unleash the jutsu, but his a sudden shock of pain ran through his body from the mark on his neck. Naruto's hand went to the mark, his concentration breaking for his jutsu. A rush of panic next filled Naruto, as Shigure appeared a mere two feet away from him and threw a powerful side punch which sent Naruto spiraling off of the tree branch he was on.

"Damn it," Naruto swore under his breath while he recovered after he hit the ground. What was happening to him? Of all times for his jutsu to not work, why did it have to be now? And it was all thanks to that mark on his neck…it was as if the more he attempted to use his chakra to fight, the more it hindered him. Cursing again, Naruto looked up, but then quickly dodged to the side as another barrage of senbon rained down from above, hitting the ground so hard that it was as if an explosion had occurred.

"I'm impressed that you can dodge my senbon like that," Shigure said, jumping down from branch to branch until he was on ground level along with Naruto. "The other team wasn't able to last nearly as long as you…it's starting to piss me off."

"What can I say?" Naruto replied with a deceivingly confident smile. "That other team you defeated must have been a bunch of losers to actually get hit by senbon that are as slow as yours." Actually, the senbon that he was dodging now were indeed much slower than the ones that he had to deal with when he had to confront Haku in the Land of Waves.

This seemed to have turned out to be the wrong thing to say though, as Shigure growled angrily and took out two more of his umbrellas from his back and threw them in the air.

"Easy to dodge, are they?" he said, folding his hands together into a hand seal. "Well, let's just see how easy it is now? Jouro senbon!"

"Shit!" Naruto yelled, darting off back into the high tree branches for cover just as the senbon were released from the inside of the umbrellas.

A little farther off, Hinata dodged once again the water whip, but winced slightly as she felt the very edge of it graze her left leg, leaving a small rip in her dark blue pants and as a small trickle of blood run down it.

"We have to finish this fast," Shikamaru said, turning his head to the sky, seeing what little light he still had left. Soon, there wouldn't be a sufficient amount to form shadows for his jutsu, and that would leave him as nothing more than a troublesome pawn that was in the way for a checkmate. He knelt down in exhaustion next to Hinata, watching the tentacle like streams of water lash out in the air in front of them, separating themselves from their opponents.

He let out a quiet curse, continuing to watch the water lash about in front of them. He had come to realize that this jutsu was probably not only offensive, but defensive as well. It could probably block any in coming kunai or other weapons…If only they had learned some Suiton style jutsu from Kakashi, then maybe then they could use their jutsu against them…

Shikamaru's eyes suddenly widened an idea hitting her…what if they didn't need Suiton jutsu to beat them…maybe… He quickly put his hand into his weapons pouch to check his inventory. Only three explosive tags left…he would have felt a lot better about his plan if he had a couple more, but he guessed that it would have to due.

"Alright, Hinata," Shikamaru said, standing to his feet while attaching the explosive notes onto three different kunai. "I've got a plan, but the final blows are going to be all up to you. You think you can handle it…?"

"Y-yeah," Hinata said nodding.

"Alright, here's the plan," he responded back, whispering softly into her ear so the two across from them could not hear. When done, Hinata gave a confident nod and took one of the kunai from Shikamaru.

"Here we go," Shikamaru muttered under his breath.

With one last deep breath, Shikamaru threw the first kunai with an explosive note attached to it to the right side right at the base of where the water connected to the ground. A loud explosion rocked the entire area as debris flew, making both Shikamaru and Hinata shield their eyes. Yet, through all of the noise, Shikamaru could still hear the sound of splashes of water falling to the ground.

"It doesn't matter what you do," the shortest member said laughing. "We can form the same jutsu just by gathering the water back together again. Then, we can use the sparse amount of water in this forest to make our jutsu even more powerful. It's useless!"

Not speaking a single word, Hinata threw her kunai to the left side of the "wall" of water in front of them, and the same thing happened again. Now, only the center part of their enemies' jutsu remained.

"What are you going to do now?" the taller one asked snickering. "Waste your last kunai and explosive tag for nothing?"

Shikamaru could not suppress his grin as he held up the last kunai for the two in front of him to see. Then, with as much strength as he could, he threw his last kunai. But he did not throw it at his enemies though. Instead, he threw it straight up. All four of the Genin followed the kunai and Shikamaru's grin widened even more when he saw it connect straight into the base of a very large branch above them, right where he had been aiming for. Again, a loud explosion rocked the forest, but this time it was above them, and the large branch had become dislodged and was falling straight at the two bellow it, the two Suiton specialists.

"He used it to break off that branch above us!" the taller of the two yelled, looking up as the branch fell toward them.

"No shit, Midari!" the shorter one yelled back. "Let the jutsu go for now, we'll start it again after we get out of the way of this thing!"

Just as he said, the water fell to the ground with a splash and the two jumped into opposite directions just as the giant tree branch hit the ground. Hinata and Shikamaru both felt a rush of excitement run through them as they saw one of them land in the exact same puddle that Shikamaru had been hoping they would.

"Now, Hinata!" Shikamaru yelled, but Hinata was already half way through the required seals.

"Raiton: Dendou Touza no Jutsu!" she yelled, slamming her open palm on a puddle in front of her that led to another puddle that the short, young man stood in. A second later, the boy let out a loud scream of pain as his body began to spasm from the electric shock running through him, and then he fell to the ground, motionless.

While the other young man stood there gaping at what had just happened to his teammate, Shikamaru quickly formed the hand sign for his own jutsu. Hinata had done her part, now it was time for his turn to lend a hand.

"Here we go," he said, forming three hand seals and looking up at the sky. There wasn't that much time left…there was now hardly any light at all. It was now or never. "Kage Sakujou no Jutsu!"

The older Genin turned around just in time to see the shadow shoot across the ground toward him. When it reached him, it suddenly began wrapping around his leg then up his body, and soon his entire body was wrapped around by the shadow.

"What the hell?" he gasped, trying to get himself out of the jutsu.

Shikamaru closed his eyes in concentration, determined not to let his opponent go. This was a variant of the Kagemane Jutsu that his father had taught him, but it was different in a couple ways. Though it still immobilized the enemy, this jutsu did not have the one attached to it copy the movements of the user. In fact, Shikamaru could not move at all or the jutsu would break. One would think that this jutsu would be completely useless compared to its seemingly more efficient jutsu that it originated from. But there was one thing that this jutsu that set itself apart from his others. When the immobilized victim is captured, any attacks done to him are not dealt back to the caster of the jutsu.

"Okay, Hinata, your turn!" he yelled, still not opening his eyes.

With a nod, Hinata darted forward at their enemy, now completely helpless from any attack. With only two simple hand seals, her hands began to spark with purple electricity, but it also glowed with the blue hue of jyuuken.

"Raiton: Denkou Dageki!" she yelled as she pulled back her open palm and the boy's eyes shone with fear. With quick succession, Hinata sent two jabs to each side of his chest, two in each of his shoulder, two in opposite arms, and two just above his waist. With each strike, his body shook from the electrical shock running through his body.

Shikamaru let out a sigh before releasing his jutsu. He looked across from him and saw that the boy that Hinata had attacked was still awake, but seemed to be losing consciousness as well.

"The explosive tags were nothing more than a way to spread the water out so that it would lead to one of you. Water conducts electricity, everyone knows that. All we had to do was get one of you into a puddle that connected to one near us and…well you saw what happened," he said, nodding over at the Ame nin's teammate that still lay motionless on the ground. "All that was left after that was to immobilize you and let Hinata take care of the rest. Her family's fighting style, called Jyuuken, attacks the body internally, while the electricity that she uses damages the body externally. You underestimated our abilities, and also our teamwork."

"Impossible," he grunted, finally losing conscious.

"After you've been on this team for as long as I have, the impossible becomes a daily part of everyday life," the Nara genius said, not caring that the one he had been talking to was no longer conscious.

High above the two, Naruto back flipped to dodge a barrage of needles and knelt down, breathing deeply. Though he had been able to dodge most of the attacks that Shigure had thrown at him, he was not able to dodge every single one of the attacks. Several senbon protruded out of his black outfit, but he did not worry much about them. Unlike Haku, this guy obviously didn't know how to aim that well. Each one of Haku's attacks always had a desired affect that would usually come to pass ever single time. This kind of attack was less accurate though. The only way that it would be truly effective is if they would land directly all at once. As long as Naruto dodged the main hull of the attack, he should be fine.

Though knowing the risk he was taking, Naruto took his eyes away from his enemy and looked down, and couldn't help but smile when he saw the two opponents that Hinata and Shikamaru had been facing were now lying face down on the ground, completely still. If there was something that he could always count on, it was Shikamaru's brains and Hinata's determination.

"You and your team are beaten," Naruto said, standing back up to his full height. "Even if you beat me all the way up here, which I doubt you can with how much chakra you seem to have wasted using that jutsu of yours…my team will just come back up and finish you off while you're exhausted."

The scarred young man in front of him growled angrily as he looked down at his team, letting out a very loud and rude curse at the same time. His single open black pupil eye glared across at Naruto in hatred.

"If you think I'm going to accept defeat from a couple of puny wannabe punks like you, you're dead wrong!" he yelled, running forward in a rage.

Naruto let out a soft chuckle as he dodged the two punches his opponent threw easily. This was just sad now. His fury had made his attacks sloppy. Reading and dodging his attacks took hardly any concentration at all anymore. Dodging one last punch, Naruto tripped his opponent, causing him to fall off the branch they were standing on. Getting onto the bottom side of the branch, Naruto launched himself off of it and delivered a strong drop kick as they were half way down, making Shigure cough up a small amount of blood as he continued to fall.

Finally, Naruto crouched down as he landed onto the forest floor and his opponent landed on his back, sending up a small cloud of dust as he hit. Standing to his feet, he turned around and flashed a thumbs up to his teammates, which they returned with a warm smile.

"Looks like we made it through just fine after all, Shikamaru," Naruto said as he casually began picking out the random senbon that protruded from his outfit. "And you were actually worried."

"You…still should be…!"

Naruto stopped and let out a sigh before turning around, seeing Shigure again rising to his feet, breathing raggedly and clutching his chest at the same time. Then, with a mighty yell, he took off all five remaining umbrellas on his back, opened them with a swing of both of his arms and threw them into the air as they hovered overhead.

"Please," Naruto said, not looking worried in the slightest. "You've been fighting me this entire time with this jutsu. And by the way you're panting, it's obvious that it takes a lot of chakra to actually perform. I bet you hardly have any chakra left to attack us."

Though still breathing deeply, Shigure chuckled as he extended his hands to add to the concentration for his jutsu. The senbon needles suddenly flew out of their umbrellas and whizzed around overhead.

"It's true, _you _have been able to dodge all of my attacks so far…but I wonder if your little girlfriend will be able to do the same!"

Naruto's cerulean eyes opened wide as he looked up, seeing each of the senbon pointing directly at the blue haired Hyuuga. Hinata opened her mouth in shock, as the senbon suddenly shot at her. She knew she couldn't get out of the way in time…her whole body felt numb from using the two simultaneous jutsus just moments ago. There was nothing she could do!

Hinata closed her eyes, awaiting the feeling of each of the needles piercing her body…but it never came. Her eyes snapped open as her ears picked up the sound of short, ragged breathing over her. She looked up and saw Naruto, gritting his teeth together in a pained smile, looking down at Hinata.

"Doesn't this seem a little familiar, Hinata?" Naruto asked, his legs wobbling uncontrollably. "It's just like in the Land of Waves…but this time I'm the one saving you…"

Naruto then dropped to the ground right beside Hinata, revealing the large amount of needles that were sticking out of his back.

"No, Naruto-kun!" the blue haired Hyuuga yelled, hurriedly turning Naruto around and holding his head in her arms. The blonde did not respond, his eyes closed and his breathing becoming shorter by the moment.

"Well, that turned out better than I wanted it to," Shigure said as he picked up one of his umbrellas that had fallen from the sky and putting it over his shoulder. "Now all I have to do is take care of you two weaklings…"

Anger beyond anything Hinata had ever known before in her life surged throughout her. With a suddenly burst of energy that she did not know she still possessed, she jumped to her feet and dashed at Shigure, her hands sparking with electricity. Shigure smiled as he easily dodged the anger fueled attack and retaliated with a hard punch into the side of Hinata's head, dropping her to the ground.

"No," Shikamaru muttered, forming the seal for his shadow jutsu. His shadow shot out for about a meter, but then retracted back to him. The Nara cursed as he looked up to the sky. The sun was now completely out of sight, and the pathetic sliver of a moon that hung overhead could not supply nearly enough light for his jutsu. He hurriedly took out three shuriken from his weapons pouch and threw them at Shigure, but the Ame Genin merely took out a kunai of his own and batted each of them away.

"This is just too easy," he said, stepping forward. Bending down, he grabbed Hinata by her blue hair and pulled up, making her wince in pain as he lifted her off the ground. He smiled cruelly at her as he raised the kunai in his other hand so that it was pointing at her throat. "This world doesn't need weaklings like you! Say hi to your friend for me!" he yelled as he pulled back his kunai, preparing himself to slash out Hinata's throat with one clean slice.

The scarred Genin's hand suddenly froze as a powerful grip stopped him from behind. With a curse, he turned his head around and his mouth dropped open in shock, seeing Naruto right behind him, his blonde hair shielding his eyes.

"Impossib-" Shigure was not able to finish his sentence as he let out a scream of agony as Naruto increased his grip ion the older boy's wrist and dropped Hinata. The Hyuuga did not move though, her eyes completely locked onto Naruto, seeing the mixture of both red, black, and purple chakra swirling around him.

"Don't you _ever_ lay a finger on her again," Naruto growled, looking up and revealing blood red eyes to Shigure, all the while not noticing the black markings that were beginning to stretch down his arms.

Naruto suddenly threw a hard punch into Shigure's gut, making the older boy cough up blood and stumble backwards from the force of the blow. Naruto did not allow him to recover though. He immediately went into a flurry of punches into Shigure's chest and face, each of his attacks becoming more and more powerful with each blow he delivered.

"Not so tough anymore, are you?!" Naruto yelled, kicking him square in the chest so that he fell over onto his back. With a mighty jump, Naruto twirled in the air as he continued through the seals for his jutsu. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" he cried as a great fireball burst from his mouth and at his victim below him. A piercing scream ripped through the forest as the flame hit the ground and covered the area around Naruto.

Naruto smiled, feeling the power welling up inside of him. So this guy thought it was going to be easy defeating them, huh? Well how easy did he think it was now?! Again, Naruto went through the seals for his Futon jutsu as he continued to fall to the ground. Holding his arm out in front of him, the wind from his jutsu blew the flames away so that Shigure was no longer covered by any. Landing above him, Naruto pulled back his fist and prepared to deliver the most powerful attack he could…

He stopped.

The wind that had gathered around Naruto's hand suddenly disappeared as it fell to his side. Shigure looked back up at him, his eyes completely empty of any life at all…dead. For a moment, Naruto just continued to stare down at the boy, not fully believing what he was seeing. Dead? But…he hadn't…it wasn't meant…

A sudden weakness went through Naruto's legs as he fell to his knees, fighting an incredible urge to vomit. Coughing, he finally looked at his arms and saw the black markings running down his arms, looking a lot like a line that was sliding down toward his hand…

Naruto jumped in surprise as he felt a soft hand land on his shoulder. Looking to his right, he saw Hinata, staring back at him in worry. The blonde tried to open his mouth to speak, but no words seemed to be able to come out.

"Naruto," Hinata whispered comfortably, trying to sooth the blonde. "It's okay…he would have done the same thing to me if you hadn't done anything…"

Naruto closed his eyes, suddenly feeling the intense pain shoot through his body again from the mark on his neck. He growled angrily as he closed his eye all the more tighter, trying to fight the pain.

He stopped suddenly, feeling arms wrap around him in a warm embrace. He opened his eyes, seeing Hinata burying her face into his sleeve, holding onto him tight. Suddenly, the pain that Naruto was feeling was gone, and the markings that had been going down his arms began to retract up his arm once again. Breathing deeply, the whiskered Genin put both hands the ground to support himself, trying to catch his breath. But still, Hinata did not let him go, still holding him tight in comfort.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, trying to look at him in the eyes. The blonde coughed a couple times, still breathing deeply. Finally, he looked up at Hinata into her violet eyes, taking comfort in them… Finally, he gave a nod, showing that he was okay.

Helping him to his feet, Hinata put Naruto's right arm over her shoulder and helped him walk away from the corpse. Shikamaru stood silently, waiting for the two as they approached. Naruto did not look up at him in the eyes though as he once again sat down on the ground, too afraid of what his teammate's reaction was after witnessing what he had just done. Inside himself, a voice was telling him to suck it up. That he was a ninja and that he would need to get used to this kind of thing…but another side of him kept shouting at him, saying that this was not who he was. That he wasn't a killer. He wanted to just side with one and move on…but both seemed to be so right at the same time.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered, rousing the adopted Hyuuga out of his thoughts, "are you alright?"

"…Yeah," Naruto whispered. It was true really. Nearly all of the needles that had been stuck into his back now lay scattered across the burnt battlefield. No doubt thanks to the healing powers of the demon that was trapped inside of him.

"Just take a second to relax," Shikamaru said calmly. "It's all over now…we've won."

Shikamaru stood there for a moment, looking down at Naruto. Though he hated to admit it, this situation that had just occurred was eerily similar to the one when Sasuke had awakened after his battle with fake Kusa-nin and fought the Oto Genin team. Though the markings that had appeared had been different from Sasuke's, the same thing had still happened both times. Shikamaru had never seen Naruto move or attack as fast as he had when the markings on his body first appeared. The power of his jutsu also had seemed to increase as well. But although it granted great power, the user seemed to lose control of himself at the same time, attacking no matter the condition of their opponent…what would happen if the effects were prolonged?

"…Something's happening to me, guys," Naruto said, his eyes staring down at the ground. "I keep losing control of myself, every time I get into a fight. First, it happened in the Land of Waves when…" Naruto looked up at Hinata and into her violet eyes. "When I had thought that Haku had killed you," Naruto finished. "Then, it almost happened again when we were trying to get away from that snake psycho a couple days ago, when we were trying to get away and also when I thought that she had killed you," he said, this time looking at Shikamaru. "It just keeps getting worse and worse and…I don't know what to do."

"Just like always Naruto, you never know the answers to the simplest of questions," Shikamaru suddenly spoke up. Both Hinata and Naruto looked up at Shikamaru, the boy still wearing the same bored expression that he always had. "If you ask me, the reason that it's always taking control of you is that you always _let _it take control."

"Shikamaru!" Hinata exclaimed, shocked at his words. Naruto did not say anything though, still looking up at the other boy.

"If what you say is true," the Nara continued, ignoring Hinata, "then it seems that every time we get into extreme danger, this…something dark that is inside of you comes out and begins to take control of you."

Naruto's eyes widened in alarm, fully understanding the hidden meaning behind Shikamaru's words. His teammate just gave a reassuring nod and small grin in response, making the blonde calm down slightly. Hinata noticed the silent exchange that the two had, but could not understand it herself…

"I believe that it keeps taking control of you because, semiconsciously, you believe that it is our one and only chance of survival," Shikamaru said shrugging. "So, your answer is that you need to force yourself to rely on your own power, not this one that keeps taking over. Do you really think that Kakashi put us in the exam with only the hope that your 'power' would come out and save us at the last second? He believes in all of our skills, even mine," he added with a laugh. "He put us in here because he believes that we can make it through all of this on our own. Which we did."

Naruto looked back to the ground, his eyelids slightly closed. "But…what if I can't control myself if it does happen again?" he asked. "What if…I hurt one of you next time?"

"That's not going to happen," Hinata said now, shaking her head. Now Naruto looked up at her in small surprise, but she did not blush or look away. This time, she looked deep into his cerulean eyes, smiling. "You've…always protected everyone that you've ever cared about. You helped out Sasuke-kun when other boys tried to fight him for being the best in the academy and you stopped people from making fun of me too. And you've never stopped caring for all of us. I…I had thought that joining my clan would have changed you…badly. But," she said, smiling wider than ever now, "I was wrong. I don't care what Neji, Hanabi, or Hizashi-sama will ever say to you. We've always been able to count on you and…you're the strongest person I've ever met."

Naruto sat there stunned silence, looking back and forth between his two teammates. Slowly, a smile spread across his face as he attempted to stand to his feet, but was once again back on the ground as his legs gave way underneath him.

"Hey, don't get in such a hurry," Shikamaru said, leaning his head to the side and grinning slightly. "Trust me…you look like shit right now." The three teammates let out a small laugh together, trying their best to forget all that had happened the last couple of days. "You two just hang out here…" Shikamaru said as he began to walk away. "I'll check the two that are knocked out and see if one of them has the scroll we need."

Naruto and Hinata watched Shikamaru walked towards the two surviving Ame-nins silently. As he walked away, Naruto forced his eyes to back over the one that hadn't…the one that he had killed. For a moment, he took in the sight, looking what had happened…what he had allowed himself to do. The ruthlessness of his attacks, the coldhearted murder that he had performed. He closed his eyes, seeing the exact same picture inside his mind's eye. Opening them again, he promised that he would not let himself forget that scene. So that he would always remember the consequences of allowing himself to lose control of himself…

But after that, he looked from Shikamaru and then to Hinata, who was still watching the Nara search the two unconscious Genins for a scroll. Thank goodness that Hinata was around to help him. If she hadn't been around to help…he didn't know what would have happened.

_To me, Hinata, _Naruto thought, smiling at the girl in front of him, _if there is one thing that _I _will always be able to count on, its you…_

* * *

"Well, that was interesting," the silver haired man said sitting up in the high branches of a tree, looking down at the three young Genin below him. Beside him, he heard his "teammates", who in fact were his subordinates, let out a simultaneous grunt. Kabuto turned his head at the two, looking at each of them with his usual shrewd and cocky half grin. "Something you two would like to say?"

"…It's just strange that you seem so interested in this kid," the one with what seemed like black sunglasses shielding his eyes said. "Until recently, Orochimaru-sama didn't even have any interest at all in this punk. Then he decides to have a spur of the moment idea and suddenly you become completely interested in him. When you helped the Uchiha's group get their scroll last night, you didn't seem nearly as interested in the bug user…"

Kabuto gave a sigh as he stood back to his feet and pushed up his glasses. Of course Akado would be the one to first question him. It was no secret that he desired his own job as Orochimaru's right hand man, but Kabuto knew full well that his fellow undercover Oto nin was nothing more than one of Orochimaru's pawns that would be tossed away on a whim in a heartbeat. On top of that, he is for the most part all talk with nothing to back it off, hardly even above Chunin rank.

"I don't think that's any concern of yours," Kabuto said as a gleam caught his glasses from the scarce amount of light the moon provided overhead. "If you forget, Orochimaru-sama assigned me as captain of this mission, so perhaps it would be best if you would just sit back and obey orders as you usually do," he decided to add looking at him from the corner of his eyes.

The man across from him tightened both of his fists as he stared angrily back at Kabuto. The last member of the trio merely continued to watch the two in slight amusement. Though not as ambitious as Kabuto's other companion, Tsurugi was the cockier of the two, even though his abilities were just as under developed as Akado's.

"Calm down, Akado," the other man with glasses said before looking back to Kabuto again. "But I must say, I'm kind of curious as well as to why you seem to be so interested in this boy. Orochimaru-sama said nothing about watching over this team as he did with Uchiha's…it almost seems that you have a hidden agenda of your own…" he said suspiciously.

"Does it?" Kabuto said, raising his right eyebrow at the two. "Well, I can assure you that my entire loyalty belongs to Orochimaru-sama and Orochimaru-sama alone. I'm kind of hurt that you'd actually accuse me of such a thing. I thought you would know me better after all we've been through," he said with a shrug.

The two across from him continued to scowl back at him, doubt and suspicion apparent on their faces even with the purple veil covering most of their faces besides their eyes.

"But I suppose you two are correct about us not needing to be out here," the medic nin said back as he turned his back to the two and faced the direction of the tower. "The tower is not far, we can reach it within the hour if we hurry."

Before he left though, he spared one last look down at the Kyuubi container below him and couldn't help but wonder how large of a roll he would play in the future. Without a doubt, he was an interesting boy. Perhaps Orochimaru-sama will second guess his choice of Sasuke being his new container…maybe. With that, he jumped off into the direction that he was facing with his two partners following close behind him.

* * *

_I have mixed views of this chapter. At first, I didn't like it that much. Then after getting it beta'd and editing it again, I feel halfway satisfied…almost. Anyways, thanks for reading._ _If you don't remember, the characters I used to get the other scroll are not OCs. You might remember them as the first ever seen victims of Gaara in the Forest of Death. I think it was episode 33 that they are in...you can check them out if you wish._

_Special Announcement! Due to lack of attention to my last chapter,it seems thatI had forgotten to give back Shino his bugs after he was saved (thanks to Dragon Man 180's sharp eye). At first, I was going to edit it and change it back, but then I stopped, the thought of Shino receiving new bugs crossing my mind. So, here we are! Time for another "voting"…thing! If you haven't been reading the entire last paragraph, I'm giving Shino new bugs. So, if you have any ideas at all on this subject, put it in your review and I'll get back to you on the idea. Try to be as detailed as you can, and include weaknesses as well as strengths. I don't want to make Shino too bad ass…as if he isn't already enough! XD_

_Thanks for reading and look forward to the beginning of the prelims next chapter. I'm aiming to put three matches in for it. I've been SO looking forward to this for such a long time. I'm going to have so much fun! See you soon (hopefully…)_

_GAZ_

_Original Jutsu List (Lots of them today!)_

_Futon: Oshi Heki no Jutsu__ Wind Release: Pressure Burst Jutsu_

_Wind gathers around the users fist and when connects with something, the wind expands rapidly while it both tears away at the target and propels them away. It can also be used in defense by clapping the user's hands together and forming a temporary "wall" of wind to blow away incoming weapons such as shuriken and kunai._

_Suiton: Mizu Yari no Jutsu- Water Release: Water Whip Jutsu (I was running out of original names at this point…)_

_Gathering water together with chakra, the user forms it into a whip from the ground and uses it to attack with surprising strength. It can also deflect attacks as well._

_Raiton: Dendou Touza no Jutsu-__ Thunder Release: Electric Current Jutsu_

_The user of this jutsu slams his or her hand on the ground and sends an electric charge through the surrounding area. Area can become larger when additional chakra is added (more dedicated readers might remember me using this jutsu to break the group out of Orochimaru's genjutsu back in chapter 17)._

_Kage Sakujou no Jutsu- Shadow Rope Jutsu_

_A variant of the Kagemane no Jutsu developed by Shikamaru. The user's shadow wraps around the target and immobilizes it, but unlike the Kagemane the target does not imitate the caster's movement. Though it does not last as long as the Kagemane and takes much more chakra and concentration, it spares the caster any damage that the target might receive._

_Raiton: Denkou Dagekis- Thunder Release: Lightning Strikes_

_Developed by Hinata. Using the combination of Jyuuken, her knowledge of lightning jutsu from Kakashi, and her teachings of the chakra system from Hizashi, Hinata can target points of the body where she has memorized to be chakra points and attack the areas both externally, with the electricity, and internally, using Jyuuken. Best preformed when the opponent is stationary sense it is easier for Hinata to hit the desired points._


	20. The Prelims Begin!

_Well...a little over one month since my last update, but at least I cut the amount of time it took me to write the last chapter by half. Granted, I've been planning out pretty much all of these matches ever since I started this fic, so it was pretty easy to pull off. XD Anyways, we finally get to the point that everyone has been waiting for...the prelims! It's been a long wait, but we've finally made it. Now all I hope for is for it to be worth while. So, as usual, please enjoy the chapter._

_Special thanks to my beta, IsranDarkstrider! Thanks!_

_I don't own Naruto, blah, blah, blah..._

* * *

"Well," Ibiki said smiling as he surveyed each and every one of the Genins that stood in in front of him along with all the rest of the assorted Jonins, Tokubetsu Jonins, and a couple volunteer Chunins beside him. "Who would have ever thought that _seven _teams would have actually passed the second exam? Looks like you owe me some money, Anko," he said glancing over at his associate for running the Chunin Exams that year. The woman beside him had betted that only three teams at best would pass the second part of the exam, though Ibiki had bet that there would be more. It was a good thing he did not pick an exact number, since he would have only guessed five at most.

The kunoichi beside him did not respond though, also surveying the crowed in front of her, all the while fiddling with the rope necklace that was around her neck in her hand. Though she made no sign of it, she could hardly believe herself that so many had passed…looks like she shouldn't have made all those bets after all. But there were other things at the moment that shocked her more than even if twenty teams had passed through the Forest of Death on one piece. Like the fact that the three Genin that her former sensei had put the seal on were still standing and breathing right in front of her.

But Anko had other things to worry about at the moment. Without saying a word to Ibiki, she turned her head to the man that stood between him and the scarred interrogator, the Sandaime of Konohagakure. His features were stern and serious, but his eyes shone with the concern that a grandfather would have for his grandchildren. Not only was Sarutobi strong and powerful, but he was also kind and wise. He was everything a Hokage should be. Anko's already great respect for the man seemed to grow even more.

"Anko, are you sure that all three of them have received the mark?" Sarutobi asked, looking once at Sasuke, Naruto, and Shino, and then glancing back over at Anko from the corner of his eye as he removed his pipe from his mouth.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," the purple haired kunoichi said with a nod. "To tell the truth, I was worried if even _one _of them would survive…and now here they are, alive. It's…unreal."

"Whether it is unreal or not is not the case," Ibiki said darkly as his calculating eyes surveyed the three. "The question that needs to be addressed right now is what should we do about it?"

Anko let out a loud sniff before turning directly at the two men beside her. "It's obvious what we do. We take them out of the exam and put all three of them under ANBU guard until we can figure out what to do with each of them. All three of them are a danger to themselves and all those around them if they just stay here."

"I don't think that's going to happen," a voice said from behind the three. The two men and woman turned around and faced Sarutobi Asuma and Hatake Kakashi, the first having his arms crossed and wearing a partly defiant stare towards the elderly man in front of him. Kakashi on the other hand looked perfectly relaxed, as if he actually had a smile hiding underneath his mask.

"I don't think you have any right to state your opinion, Hatake," Anko spat at him, glaring over her shoulder at the man behind her. Kakashi seemed to look at Anko with an amused stare back at her, which only fueled her rage even further as she glared back. "Both of you have no idea what is happening to those three right now. That seal is going to tear each of them apart, and there's no telling if any of them will be able to withstand its power. Orochimaru is using it to try and convert them! How can you just stand by and act like nothing is wrong?"

"Always so quick to judge and act without thinking deeply upon the situation," the copy nin said shaking his head at her. "I thought that you would have learned by now to control yourself after all these years… Relax, I can speak for Naruto at least that he is stronger than he appears."

"And the reason that I say we should let them be is because that I trust Shino and Sasuke," Asuma said, blowing out a trail of smoke from the corner of his mouth. "You may be surprised that the two of them survived, but I'm not in the least. Those two kids are the finest that the academy produced, and no one knows that better than me. And as for Naruto…" he said, looking over at the blonde who was standing with a slightly annoyed look on his face for waiting so long. "Something tells me that we don't have anything to worry about with him."

"Are you forgetting what lies inside of him?" Anko whispered to make sure that no one around them could hear her words. "The cursed seal is difficult to deal with for any normal person. Who knows what side effects could occur with _him_. Hokage-sama, you must end this now before things get out of hand!"

The elderly man beside her closed his eyes, deep in thought as Anko tightened her hand into a fist. She couldn't just stand by and watch as these three destroy themselves. She, of all people, knew what the mark can do to people. There was only so many things that a person should experience more than once in their lifetime.

"I'm choosing to let them participate further in the exam," Sarutobi finally spoke, opening his eyes but not looking at any of them beside him.

"Hokage-sama!" Anko shouted, bringing everyone's attention to her suddenly in surprise.

"But," the man said, turning to young kunoichi beside him. "At the slightest hint of trouble, we will take them out of their matches. I promise, Anko."

The snake mistress gritted her teeth in aggravation, but said no more. She knew that whatever the Hokage ruled was absolute. There was no point of arguing further. Now, she would just have to sit and wait to see what happens.

"You had me worried for a second, dobe," Sasuke whispered as he turned to the blonde that was to his right. "When the fourth night came around I was starting to think that you weren't going to make it."

"Ha!" Naruto yelled, turning some eyes towards him in the room. "Shows how much you know. We did fine. We just decided to take some time off to relax. I mean, it's a no-brainer that the three of us were going to get to the third part of this exam. You guys on the other hand…well I felt a little bit iffy about you three for a little while."

Though Sasuke could tell that Naruto was trying to hide it, it was obvious that Naruto was hiding something from him. After being friends with Naruto for such a long time, Sasuke could automatically tell if something was bothering his friend, even when he was trying to hide it. His smile was less mischievous and seemed more forced than usual, and when Naruto thought no body was looking, his eyes would become far off as he stared off into space. Apparently, something had happened to him when he was in the forest. What it was, Sasuke couldn't tell.

Shikamaru let out a small sigh as he continued to listen to the two behind him bicker. Though he had to admit, Naruto's short temper and irritable attitude had died down quite a bit ever since they arrived to the tower. At least he didn't have to worry about them being the last ones to complete the exam. Barely an hour after his team arrived, Kiba and his teammates came running into the tower with exasperated looks on their faces, looking as if they had barely gotten through the forest alive. Though Kiba had a bandage around his forehead that he was attempting to hide underneath his headband, he, Choji, and Sakura all appeared to have made it through the exam with minimal damage.

There were a few though that he wasn't too happy to see again in the exam though, as his eyes traveled towards the other side of the room. Standing in that part of the room was the squad from Otogakure, glaring at his team. The team from Suna also apparently made it through the exam perfectly fine, the three of them waiting patiently with their eyes staring forward. Out of everyone there, they seemed to be the ones that were the least bit tired or injured. Of both teams, Shikamaru did not know which one he was more worried about facing. Something told him that there was more than meets the eye for the Suna trio, but the ones from Oto would be out for blood due to their last encounter. He was starting to wonder if this test could become anymore troublesome…

There was one last team that he also noticed that still remained. He recognized one of the men immediately, the one that had called Sasuke over just before Ibiki had showed up….Kabuto was it? Standing behind him stood two tough looking men with veils covering the lower part of their faces, though they still seemed to exude a slightly strange and frightening aura.

"Alright you brats!" Anko suddenly shouted, snapping all the Genin to attention in front of her. "Hokage-sama wishes to speak to each of you now."

With a nod of thanks from the old man behind her, Sarutobi took three steps forward so that he could be seen clearly by all the Genin in front of him. After taking a moment to scan the crowd one last time, he took in a breath and began to speak.

"First off," he spoke, his voice surprisingly powerful for his old age, "I congratulate each and every one of you for making it this far in the exam. You do your team, your family, and your village proud." Many of the rookies' faces lit up in smiles, but the vast majority of the group merely continued to stare at the man in front of them silently. "But now that we have made it this far, it is tradition that I tell you the meaning behind this exam…"

The Hokage suddenly stopped as a man appeared beside him. He wore the typical Chunin vest and was on one knee in respect for the Hokage. His eyes seemed strangely piercing and he had a senbon sticking out from his mouth.

"Genma," Sarutobi said with a nod as the man beside him stood to his feet.

"My apologies for interrupting, Hokage-sama," the man said as he rose to his feet but once again gave a bow in respect. "But…" The man looked at the Genin in front of him, and then leaned forward so that he could whisper into the Hokage's ear. Sarutobi's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise when Genma took a step back after he was finished.

"…It's fine," the Hokage said with a nod. "You may send him in."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," the Tokubetsu Jonin said as he made a sign and disappeared without a trace. Sarutobi looked back at the group in front of him and coughed into his fist once before speaking again.

"We seem to have a guest that has decided to join us," he said as he looked beyond the Genin.

As one, each of the Genin turned around to see this so called "guest". Both Hinata and Naruto's jaw dropped in shock as Hizashi made his first steps into the room, his hands tucked inside opposite sleeves of the robe that he wore. Both teammates immediately looked over at Neji, and found that he too watched his father with a surprised gaze as he continued to walk toward them.

"Thank you for allowing me to witness the exams, Hokage-sama," Hizashi said as he passed by both Hinata and Naruto without even giving the two a second glance. "And I apologize for making such an abrupt appearance as well."

"No harm at all," Sarutobi replied, though he watched Hizashi with a questioning look as he walked up the three steps toward him. After giving a respectful bow to the Hokage, Hizashi walked by him and positioned himself beside Kakashi.

"…Will you tell me now why you wanted me to come to this exam?" the clan leader of the Hyuugas asked, turning his head to the man beside him as the Hokage began his speech once again. "Was it because you merely wanted to show me that the three of them had gotten through the exam safe?" Though there was a natural friction between the two due to the differences between their two doujutsus, Hizashi still made sure not to sound too rude. After all, there was not a doubt in his mind that he was no match for the famed Copy Nin of Konoha. He knew of Kakashi's near legendary skills, and did not wish to find out about them first hand, not that Kakashi would anyways.

"I'm sure you had the utmost confidence that Naruto, Hinata, and Neji would all be fine in this exam," Kakashi responded, the same amount of respect in his voice as well. "But there is something that you need to know…there were some things in the meeting concerning Orochimaru that Hokage-sama left out."

"…And you are going to tell me?" the Hyuuga asked. "Does the Hokage know of your decision?"

"Even if he did, he wouldn't have a problem with it. It's your right to know," Kakashi said turning his head so he could fully face Hizashi. "What was not told in the meeting was that while Orochimaru was infiltrating the exams, he put the curse mark on three of the Genin here…one of them was Naruto."

For the first time ever, Kakashi saw Hizashi look distressed as his eyes immediately darted back to Naruto. When the blonde saw that he was looking at him, his eyes went back to the Hokage who was still going on about the exam's meaning.

"And why haven't you invited the parents of the other two?" Hizashi asked.

"Because they aren't as unique of cases as Naruto," the masked nin said back. "Not to mention that they are…another's Genin squad and not mine. As of yet, I haven't had a chance to talk to my squad to see if any symptoms have arisen. And I can't aid Naruto in any way until his fight in the preliminaries is over. I just thought that you should know about Naruto's condition."

Hizashi stared back at Kakashi as his eyes looked back at Naruto…the cursed seal? And he had survived? He only knew a handful of rumors about the infamous sealing technique that Orochimaru had invented, and none of them had been good. And now, there were three seals on Naruto, one that locked in the Kyuubi, the Caged Bird seal, and the one that was put on him by Orochimaru. Just how much could one child take…?

"And so, the unity and alliance between our villages endures," Sarutobi said to the group in front of him, signaling the end of his speech. "The third part of this exam is a fight for your very lives."

The entire crowd in front of him stood silently, each of them attempting to take in what they had just heard. There were a few, such as the Oto nins and a couple of the ones from Suna who looked as if they had hardly listened to a word the old man had said, but they had once again snapped back to attention when they realized that he was done.

Suddenly, to all of the Genins' surprises, a man suddenly appeared in front of them, kneeling just like the one that had arrived there just minutes ago.

"Your timing is as prompt as ever, Hayate," the Sandaime said as the man rose to his feet.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," the man said, though he immediately went into a violent fit of coughing after he said this. Turning around, the man revealed his pale face and the large bags underneath his eyes to the group behind him, letting out two small coughs in the process.

"Um…my name is Gekko Hayate, and I am the proctor for the third part of the exam. Before we start the next exam though…well, we're going to have to have a preliminary exam for it," he said, looking at each of the Genin in front of him in turn.

"What?!" Naruto yelled, pointing at the proctor furiously. "What do you mean 'preliminary'? We just got done with that hell hole you call a forest, and now your telling us that we have to do _more _to get to the stinkin' next part of the exam?!"

"…Yes," the sickly man said simply, not at all fazed by Naruto's outburst. "The fact of the matter is that there are way too many of you for the next part of the exam. So, we're going to have to cut the numbers down to half so that things will be able to run smoothly for us."

"Sounds like to me that they just want to be lazy," Shikamaru said with a sigh over his shoulder.

"You're one to talk, Shikamaru," Naruto said rolling his eyes at his friend. Behind him, Hinata giggled.

"The preliminary exams will consist of one on one fights. The rules are that there are no rules. The winner of the match will be determined when one concedes defeat, or the other dies. But," he continued when he saw some of the Genin's horrified faces, "to minimize deaths, I'll be permitted to step in if I feel that the winner is obvious or if I think the match is useless."

"These proctors just love giving us more shit to do for this stupid exam," Kiba said on the other side of Naruto's team from where Sasuke was. Though the blonde hated to admit it, he had to agree with Kiba on his statement.

"But, if any of you feel that you won't be able to continue through this next round, you are permitted to drop out here if you wish…" Hayate continued before he went into a fit of coughs once again. "So…is there anyone here who wishes to drop out?"

All eyes suddenly darted to the left as one of the men lifted his arm with a slightly embarrassed smile on his face.

"Alright, I've got to admit that your description fits me perfectly," Kabuto said, rubbing the back of his head. "That exam took a little bit more out of me than I thought. I don't think I'll be able to get through these preliminaries that you're mentioning."

Hayate nodded back to the young man in understanding, though he was surprised that someone actually gave up so readily. It was only his first year as proctor of the Chunin Exams, and he had not expected to have either this many combatants or someone drop out so willingly.

"Alright then," Hayate said with a nod, before scribbling something on his clipboard. "If that's the case, you may leave now if you wish."

"Well, that's kind of the thing," Kabuto continued, opening his eyes. Once again, eyes went back to Kabuto as he smiled sheepishly back at the proctor. "Though I don't feel as if I can continue on to the next part of the exam…is it alright if I can stay and watch? I mean, I've never actually been able to watch the exam matches before. Maybe I can learn a couple things from everyone here."

"…I don't see anything wrong with that," the sickly proctor said as he turned back to the Hokage. The old man's eyes went from Kabuto and then back to Hayate, before giving him a nod. Hayate nodded back before scribbling down that there was one dropout from the exam.

Kabuto turned his head slightly to look back at his two "teammates". Both of them were eyeing him suspiciously, as if they suspected that he was up to something. Kabuto merely turned away from them though. He had no reason to worry about the cares of a couple of pawns in the schemes of Orochimaru-sama. His eyes instead went over to the lone Oto Jonin on the far left side of the room standing in front of them, eyeing Kabuto with narrowed eyes. The glassed eyed under cover Oto nin merely smiled back while looking around, a message that said: _I just want to see what they can do for myself._ Orochimaru continued to stare at Kabuto, seeming to stare right into his soul. Finally, he turned his eyes away from Kabuto and back to the proctor, deciding to worry about whatever Kabuto was up to later.

"Well…is there anyone else who wishes to quit?" Hayate asked, his eyes looking at each of the individual Genin one by one.

"Hmm…that does sound pretty tempting," Shikamaru muttered, rubbing the back of his head and looking up to the ceiling in thought.

"Come on, Shika," Naruto said, slapping his teammate on the back. "We've all come this far, so why should we quit now?"

"Ever hear the phrase, 'quit while you're ahead'?" the Nara said back looking over his shoulder. The sluggish Genin merely let out another sigh before he repositioned his hands back into his pockets.

"Well, if there isn't anyone else who wishes to quit," Hayate finally said again when he did not hear anyone call out, "then we will go straight onto the first match." The pale proctor nodded back to Anko who returned in kind. After saying something into the headset that she had on, everyone looked up as one of the panels began to move on the high wall, revealing a large blank screen.

"To save time and to be fair for all of you, all of your names have been put into a computer. Before each fight, the computer will randomly put two names on the screen above us, and those will be two who will take part in that match…So let us see just what fate has in store for all of you."

The man turned around just as the computer above everyone hummed to life. Two lines that flashed quickly with the names of all the combatants in the exams suddenly appeared on the screen, a small "vs" in between to separate the two. Silently, the Genin watched apprehensively as the names continued to flash. Finally, with a loud beep, two names finally appeared on the screen. Hinata and Naruto stiffened when they saw the names, and Shikamaru let out an agitated grunt as his shoulders slumped.

**Nara Shikamaru vs. Kinuta Dosu**

"I always have the shittiest luck," Shikamaru groaned as he turned his head back at Naruto with a frustrated frown on his face. The blonde merely lifted both of his hands with a nervous smile back at him in an obvious apology.

"…And there you have it," Hayate said, letting out a single cough as he turned back at the Genin. "Will the two opponents please step forward?"

Dosu immediately began to walk, if you could call it walking more than waddling, up the man in the front. Shikamaru though let out one last groan before he dragged his feet forward to the front, both of the Genins facing each other in front of the proctor.

"You have both been chosen as the first opponents of the preliminary exam," the Tokubetsu Jonin said, looking from one Genin to the other. "Do either of you have any objections to this?"

"Nope," Dosu said curtly, though his voice seemed to have an edge of excitement to it as well.

Shikamaru looked back to the proctor, grabbing his chin and closing his eyes in thought. Hayate raised his eyebrows at the Genin. This was probably the first time that he's ever seen someone in the Chunin Exam think over whether to take on a match or not. This was definitely not a normal Genin.

"…Fine," Shikamaru said opening his eyes. His face didn't seem to be frustrated or angry anymore. Instead, it was sharp and calculating, though he did put his hands back into his pockets and leaned his head to the side in slight laziness.

"Too bad for you, Temari," Kankuro said, turning his eyes backwards to his older sister behind him. "Looks like you won't be the one to kick that kid's ass in this exam. Guess you won't be able to redeem yourself for that shogi match that he made you look foolish in."

Temari raised her fist unexpectedly and punched Kankuro in the back of the head, making the puppet user grasp it in pain while looking back at the blonde kunoichi behind him. He did notice though that she did seem to be a small bit disappointed that she was not able to get her match in with the lazy bastard. It was uncommon for Temari to give so much attention to an enemy shinobi.

"Alright then, then I will now ask everyone else to please go to the upper level to clear the area for the fight," Hayate said, motioning to the stairs on each side of the room.

Before setting off to the stairs, Naruto and Hinata spared one last look at Shikamaru to check on him. They found though that their teammate had once again closed his eyes, completely oblivious to all that was around him. Dosu seemed to take this offensively though, as his one visible eye narrowed angrily at his opponent across from him. Naruto and Hinata knew better though. They had little doubt that Shikamaru was devising a plan for his upcoming battle. Shikamaru suddenly opened his eyes once again, staring straight ahead at the Oto nin across from him.

"He'll be fine," Naruto said reassuringly to Hinata beside him, though he could not hide the small amount of worry that carried in his voice for his teammate. He stopped though when he saw Kakashi begin to walk toward them.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto and Hinata shouted together in relief, the feeling of safety falling down around them for the first time in the last week. The Copy Nin gave both of them a closed eye smile from beneath his mask with a friendly wave before stopping next to Shikamaru.

"So, how you feeling?" he asked, looking down at the Nara beside him and putting his hand on the young Genin's shoulder.

"You mean besides the splitting pain that erupts every now and again from my abdomen and head splitting headache that hasn't stopped ever since this damn exam started? I'm just great," Shikamaru replied, looking at Kakashi from the corner of his eyes in mild annoyance.

"Well, I'm glad to see that at least this week hasn't changed you that much, Shikamaru," Kakashi said with an uneasy chuckle.

His face suddenly became serious as he bent slightly lower so that he was mere inches away from Shikamaru's ear. The Nara glanced at him curiously, but said nothing. "How's Naruto doing?" his sensei asked, whispering so quietly that only Shikamaru could hear him.

"…How do you Jonins learn so much so fast? Never mind. He's better now, a lot better than what he was after he got that thing on his neck. He seemed to have had a short fuse for a little while, but he's lightened up a lot in the last day… Oh, and I've also noticed that he randomly grabs his neck as if it is in pain sometimes. I'll talk to you later about the other side affects that have occurred."

"That's expected. Thank you, Shikamaru. And good work, I'm sure you did a fantastic job leading those two through the forest. Just don't let yourself become to careless in these fights. These may be supervised unlike the ones in the forest, but they're just as deadly…"

"Got it," Shikamaru said with a nod. With one last pat on the back to his student, Kakashi walked toward Naruto and Hinata and put a hand on each of their shoulders, giving them the same closed eyed smile that he had given to Shikamaru.

"Great job," he said, not dropping his smile at all and turning back to show that he was speaking to Shikamaru as well. "I knew that the three of you were able to get through the exam just fine. No matter how these preliminaries end up, I'm proud of all three of you."

"Ah, don't get all mushy on us now, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

The Jonin gave one last short chuckle before removing his hands from Hinata and Naruto's shoulders and taking a step toward the stairs. "Come on, you two," he said to the two Hyuugas behind him. "Let's get out of here so that Shikamaru can get on with his match."

Hinata and Naruto both nodded silently at their sensei as the three made their way up the stairway that they were closest too. When they made it all the way up, they found that Neji's team along with the other members of the Rookie Nine had made their way up the same steps, though the Oto, Suna, and the one remaining Konoha team made their way to the other side of the room…all except Kabuto, who leaned on the railing and was speaking friendlily to Sasuke beside him. Though, it appeared that the Uchiha was barely paying any attention to the glasses wearing Genin, looking more annoyed than interested in what he was saying. A little farther down the balcony, Naruto saw Lee give him the thumbs up in congratulations from where he stood with his team, which Naruto awkwardly returned. His eyes turned away though when Neji looked in his direction and looked back down at his teammate below him, trying his best to avoid his new cousin's gaze. He noticed that Hinata seemed to be attempting to do the same.

"I had been hoping that I would get the chance to conclude the battle that we left had in the forest," Dosu said to Shikamaru back on the main floor, chuckling while he spoke. "I hope you are prepared. This time, there aren't any secret little traps that you have set up beforehand to help you out. And Uchiha won't be here to save you at the last second either. This time, I'll be sure that I won't have to deal with you ever again."

"Arrogant, aren't you?" Shikamaru said sighing, not looking daunted in the slightest by Dosu's words. "Why don't we stop these stupid threats to each other? I have more important things to talk about. I know that you know the one that put the mark on Naruto, Sasuke, and Shino. Am I correct?" Dosu suddenly became silent, his single visible eye squinting at Shikamaru. Though the rest of his face could not be seen, Shikamaru was sure that he was being frowned at.

"I thought so," Shikamaru said. "Who is Orochimaru?" Hayate's eyes suddenly darted to Shikamaru at the legendary Sannin's name, but remained quite so that the two could continue their conversation.

"…I have nothing more to say to you," Dosu said back, lifting the armored item on his arm threateningly at Shikamaru in front of him. "Proctor, could you please begin the match?"

Hayate let out a silent curse. Apparently, this Oto Genin had some kind of association to Orochimaru, but was now deciding to stay quite. He would have to inform Hokage-sama as soon as he could. For now though, the Exam must go on.

"Okay then," the man said with a small cough before raising both of his hands to the Genin in front of him. "If both of you are ready, let the match begin!"

"Kagemane no Jutsu!" Shikamaru shouted, making his hand seal.

Dosu's eyes widened suddenly Shikamaru's shadow suddenly contorted as if the lights above in the room had shaken, then shot right at him at frightening speed. Dosu was not sure exactly what this jutsu did, or if it was even dangerous at all for that matter, but what he did know was that he didn't exactly want to find out.

Dosu darted to the right, dodging the shadow easily, but he quickly jumped backwards again as the shadow continued to snake its way toward him, darting in every direction he was. It was all Dosu could do to stay away from it. Finally, the shadow stopped, so stretched out that it did not look like anything more than a small sliver of black thread on the ground. With one last wiggle, the shadow retracted and returned to the form of its master.

"It seems that you did not show all of your abilities during our last battle," Dosu said from across the room to Shikamaru.

"Good thing I didn't too, huh?" he replied while kneeling down on the ground, taking out two kunai and seemed to start fiddling with them in both of his hands. "That was the first advantage that I had when this match started. You haven't seen exactly what my jutsu is capable of, but I've already seen yours and experienced it first hand as well. I'm also pretty sure that I've learned how it works. That's why I made my shadow make you fall back as much as possible."

Dosu's one single eye narrowed in understanding at Shikamaru's words as his opponent stood up to his feet again. It seemed that he had figured out the weakness of his jutsu. This had been the first time that anyone had ever realized it before. The truth was that though his sound attacks are very effective, the only way that they can take their full effect is by getting up close to the enemy, where the vibrations would be the most intense. Though he could use his jutsu from this distance and still have some effect, it would only result in a small headache and, if he was lucky, a slightly upset stomach.

"I'll admit, you're clever to see through my jutsu," Dosu said, sprinting forward and raising his right arm behind him. "But if you think that I'm going to just stand by and let do whatever you please, you are dead wrong!"

Shikamaru did not respond. Instead, he took the two kunai that were in his hands and launched them at Dosu. The Oto nin merely raised the metal device on his arm in front of his face and the projectiles bounced off in different directions. When he lowered his arm though, he stopped when he saw that instead of one Shikamaru standing in front of him, there were now four, each grinning smugly at him.

_Those two shuriken that he used was just to block my vision so that he could use his Bushin no Jutsu. Now, I don't know which one is actually the real one,_ Dosu thought as he scanned the group in front of him.

"Alright, Shikamaru! You're doing great!" Choji yelled down to his best friend, raising his fist in support.

"Are you kidding me, Choji? Who wants to make a bet on whether Nara will be able to pull of a miracle and actually win?" Kiba asked as he leaned on the railing in front of him, obviously bored. "He's going to need one if that Bushin no Jutsu is the best he's got. Not to mention that his family's trademark technique was a failure. He doesn't seem any different since he left the academy. I wouldn't be surprised with how lazy the guy is. He probably loafed around all day instead of actually training."

"…Shikamaru-kun isn't as lazy as he was when he left the academy," Hinata said, looking over at the Genin and the small dog that sat on his head. "He doesn't complain as much as he used to when we train now."

"Yeah, he's a lot better," Naruto said crossing his arms and nodding. "I think I may have inspired him a little during our missions together. He kind of looks up to me, you know?"

"Will you shut up, dobe," Sasuke said, looking over at Naruto just long enough to see the aggravated look on the whiskered Genin's face then turning back to the match below. "I'm trying to watch the fight, and I can't concentrate with you talking all the time."

From beneath the bandages on his face, Dosu gritted his teeth together in annoyance as he looked at all four of the Shikamarus in front of him. The Nara just refused to make a move, he was just standing there. He wished that he would at least make a small amount of movement, then he would be able to detect which one of the four actually makes a sound and attack the original. It looked like that he would have to go after him.

Dosu let out one last growl before darting at the one Genin and four illusions that were in front of him again. Instead of running away though, Shikamaru and his bushins ran directly at Dosu as well, each taking out a kunai to defend with. As soon as they began running at him, Dosu took out a shuriken from his weapons pouch and threw it at the one in front. The shuriken passed directly through the bushin and disappeared, just as Dosu had expected. The first bushin was usually always a distraction while the original caster of the jutsu usually fell back slightly to attack when his opponent wasn't expecting it.

The three remaining Shikamarus jumped at Dosu to try and get a hit in, but their opponent dodged each of the attacks easily and also managed to get a swipe at one of them, causing it to disappear.

Now there was only one more bushin and the original Shikamaru left, one to the left of Dosu and the other to his right.

_All I need now is to wait for one of them to move and make a noise, _Dosu thought as he began to concentrate in an attempt to try and pick up any kind of sound on either side of him. Detecting which one makes noise would be much easier now that there was only one bushin and the original, not to mention that they stood on practically opposite sides of the room.

A sudden small rustle of something sliding came from his left. Dosu's head swung around in the direction and rushed at Shikamaru. The Nara's eyes widened and he took a step back as Dosu grew closer and closer.

"This was just too easy," Dosu said as he swung his arm that had the machine on it at his opponent, also using the high frequency waves that the mechanism produced to ensure his victory. There was no way that this guy could avoid his attack now…

"Game over," Neji said suddenly with a smile from the stands.

A surprised gasp escaped from Dosu as his arm traveled directly through his opponent in front of him and stumbled forward.

_That was a bushin too?! _Dosu thought as he spun himself around. By the time he did so, he had only just enough time to see a dark figure shoot across the ground and connect to his feet. His eye grew larger as he struggled to move, yet found that he had become frozen in his tracks.

"Kagemane no Jutsu, success," Shikamaru said with a smile on his face and spreading his arms, which Dosu was shocked to see that he imitated.

"What trick is this?" Dosu asked as he continued to struggle to break out of whatever jutsu this was. "I swore that I heard something in this direction…how can you be over there?!"

"Simple," Shikamaru said back, pulling his right arm up. Dosu could suddenly see the barely noticeable small wire string that was in his hand. Shikamaru tugged on the string with a small flick of his wrist and Dosu looked back to the side, seeing the kunai that had been thrown at him and had deflected move slightly. He only then noticed the other end of the string connecting to it. So he hadn't been just fiddling with his kunai earlier…he was tying them to his wires!

"You focus a lot on sound for your battles. Perhaps a little too much. That's what was your down fall. You rely so much on your ears yet at the same time toss away all of your other senses. I mean seriously, why would someone cover one of their eyes?" Shikamaru said walking forward and making another seal with his right hand.

From atop the stands, Kakashi rubbed the back of his head as everyone turned and looked at him.

"Hey, I have a good reason at least," Kakashi said defending himself, but the others still gazed at him sceptically.

Dosu suddenly became even more frightened as the shadow that was connected to his feet gradually began to slide up his leg while he also walked toward Shikamaru. Finally, they were mere feet away from each other, and the shadow now was wrapped around his neck firmly. Not enough to block his airway, but enough to keep him firmly in place.

"Now, I'm going to ask you one more time…who is Orochimaru? What do you know about that seal that he put on Sasuke, Naruto, and Shino?"

Dosu cursed that he had his bandages over his mouth so he couldn't spit into his opponent's face. "It doesn't matter what you do, I won't betray my master so easily." The grip around his neck suddenly tightened so that he couldn't breathe, catching him by surprise.

"…Fine, I'll just have to find a way to cure it without you," Shikamaru said as everything around Dosu gradually became more and more blurry and then eventually dark.

The grip around his neck and what held his body suddenly disappeared, just as a hard punch connected with his head. The Oto Genin fell down backwards, completely unconscious and still.

Shikamaru put his hands in his pockets before turning to watch the proctor approach Dosu and lay his fingers on his neck, checking his pulse. The Genin genius was happy that he had been able to finish off his opponent so early. He had hardly had any chakra left to keep his jutsu up so he had to let it go. That…and he just _really _wanted to punch the hell out of Dosu.

"…Kinuta Dosu is unable to continue the match," Hayate said as he stood to his feet and let out a cough. "Therefore, the winner of the match is Nara Shikamaru."

"All right!" Naruto and Choji yelled as the two Genins raised their fists in the air in celebration and gave each other a high five while Kiba looked down with a gaping mouth.

Hinata nodded with a large smile on her face. She had been worried after Dosu had charged at Shikamaru's bushin, thinking that it was the original, but she should have known that Shikamaru had a plan throughout the entire thing.

From below, Shikamaru looked over at the proctor. "…You guys don't happen to have a medic nin around, do you? My stomach has been killing me for the last four days." No sooner than when he stopped talking, a white clad man suddenly ran out from the entrance of the room and took Shikamaru aside.

"Well, that was impressive," Kabuto said from beside them with a look of obvious surprise. "To tell you the truth, I wasn't expecting your teammate to actually win the match. Looks like brains beat brawn in this battle."

"Don't you dare underestimate any of us," Naruto said with a hearty laugh. "Just you watch. All three of us are going to become Chunin by the time this whole exam is over!"

From across the stands, the sand the two eldest members of the sand siblings looked down at Shikamaru in surprise as he waited for the medic nin to finish healing him.

"Well," Kankuro said scratching the top of his head. "I definitely didn't expect that. Looks like the kid is smarter than I gave him credit for. Who knows Temari, he might even be as smart as you are."

Temari shot Kankuro such a piercing look that he instinctively leaned backwards to put a little more space between him and his sister. He didn't want to end up with another bruise on the back of his head, the first one being given to him at the beginning of the last match. Finally, Temari looked sideways, away from both her brother and Shikamaru. The medic nin had finally finished healing Shikamaru, and victor of the match was lazily making his way up the stairs to where his teammates were.

"Just a lucky match, if you ask me," Temari said closing her eyes. "I doubt he'll be as lucky the next time." Kankuro just shrugged back, deciding it best to keep quiet, leaving his sister to her thoughts.

Shikamaru finally made his way to the top of the balcony and let out a yawn before waving at his team. Naruto noticed that he no longer winced in pain when he moved too much anymore, apparently, those medic nins new how to do their job. "Hey, how'd I do?"

"Great, Shikamaru! I can't believe how well you did! You were incredible!" Choji yelled with a loud laugh.

"Eh, it was alright," Naruto said before punching the dark haired Genin lightly in the shoulder. "Though, you could have used your own idea instead of going and copying one of mine. Using bushins to win the match..."

"It's the best thing that I could come up with," Shikamaru said back. "I just wish that I knew some other way to trap someone without using my shadow all the time. Everyone here just got a good look at exactly how it works. Maybe you could teach me something like that one jutsu that you used to trap me in that tree during our first test, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi, Naruto, and Hinata all looked at each other in confusion and then turned back to Shikamaru. "Um…sorry too tell you Shikamaru, but I didn't trap you in a tree. I put you underground with one of my Doton jutsus. Where in the world did you come up with that tree thing?"

Shikamaru blinked a couple times before looking at the three beside him. "…No, it was a tree. I was the one that got stuck in it, I should know."

"Nope, I remember having to help dig you out later before I got tied up," Naruto said shaking his head. "Trust me, you were buried."

"Are you feeling alright, Shikamaru-kun?" Hinata asked. "Do you need some water or something?"

Shikamaru was about to argue back again, but the computer that was on the wall across from them suddenly beeped to show the two next contestants. **Haruno Sakura versus Temari.**

_GAZ: Just so you all know, this last scene was me poking fun at my own stupidity. When I first started this fic I wasn't completely up do date with the Shippuden manga, if it was up to the Sasuke and Sai arc. In short, I didn't know that using wood jutsu could only be used by Yamato and the Shodai Hokage. I finally got around to editing it though and changed it to what was discussed above. Anyways, back to the story!_

"I'm next? Already?" Sakura asked, taking a step back and looking at the computer in dismay.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Kiba said, patting his female teammate on the back. "You have nothing to worry about. Kurenai-sensei taught you all kinds of Genjutsu that you can use. You'll do great!"

Kakashi noticed that a small glint appeared in Kurenai's crimson eyes, but didn't say anything about it, deciding to let the two Genin have their moment.

"Yeah, Sakura, we all know how hard you've trained these last months. You'll have no problem winning this match," Choji chimed in, giving Sakura the biggest smile he could.

Sakura looked at the two in slight surprise before a smile crossed her face and she nodded back at the two. "Thanks guys, I'll try my best."

"That is all we ask of you, Sakura-san!" Lee shouted, making Sakura nearly fall over backwards. The kid seemed to have just materialized right in front of Kiba, making the dog user scowl at the oddly dressed Genin. "No matter what happens, Sakura-san, you will always be my one true love and adoration! The fires of youth burn bright within you…let it burn forth and guide your way to victory!" Sakura's left eye began to twitch uncontrollably at the boy's sudden arrival and dramatic (and slightly creepy) speech. Gai, on the other hand, had to turn around to hide the tears of joy and pride that had begun to flow down his face.

"Uh, yeah. Thanks…" Sakura said, backing away slowly and hurriedly making her way toward the stairs.

"…Hey Sakura."

Said kunoichi stopped and turned around looking back behind her, surprised that someone else had said her name. Her shock grew even more when she saw that it was actually Ino that had stopped her.

Ino looked at her former best friend, but then her eyes went to the floor awkwardly. The talk that she had had with Hinata was still in her head. She had been thinking about it a lot since she had parted ways with the blue haired Hyuuga. There was something that she had said that had struck a cord inside of her. Something that had awoken past memories, memories before their rivalry and their crushes on Sasuke. Something that she had begun to miss…

"…Just good luck," Ino finally said, still not looking at Sakura.

Sakura merely stared back in surprise, this being the last thing that she would expect to come from Ino. "Th-thanks," Sakura said back. Again, she began to walk toward the steps. When she finally got to them, she turned around one more time to look at Ino, and then continued to walk down the stairs.

"Ino, I thought that you said that you hated Sakura," Shino said, looking over at the blonde.

"Well, who asked you?" Ino said back before leaning back onto the wall behind her, closing her eyes. Shino sighed in defeat and turned back to the match below, knowing full well when it was and wasn't time to ask Ino questions.

On the main floor, Temari and Sakura faced each other. Though Sakura looked at the opposing kunoichi determinedly and with complete focus, her opponent just looked back with an expression that could only be described as disappointment and boredom. Sakura gripped her fist in irritation but remained calm, waiting for the proctor to announce the beginning of their battle.

"Okay then," Hayate said as he looked from one of the kunoichi to the other. "The next match will be Haruno Sakura versus Temari…if both of you are ready, then you may begin."

Temari let out a loud sniff as she took what looked like the large, black paddle that she kept on her back in her hand and spun it around her head and body before pointing it straight at Sakura. The pink haired Genin felt her face become slightly pale. It looked like this girl was no joke by the way she was brandishing her weapon, no matter how ridiculous and useless it seemed to be.

"It's a shame," Temari said with her weapon still raised at Sakura. "I had been hoping that I could have gotten someone like Uchiha to face and actually get a challenge. It turns out that all I get is some overconfident brat with a huge forehead."

"Oh shit," Kiba and Choji suddenly said in unison as they both took a step back.

Everyone looked back at the two with raised eyebrows. When they looked back though, all of them began to feel uneasy even at this distance by the way that Sakura was looking at Temari. She barred her teeth at her and raised her fists, the entire room seeming to become filled with her rage.

"That's it!" Sakura yelled as her voice seemed to shake the entire room. "You can call me a brat, you can call me a weakling, but when you begin to talk about my forehead it's time to kick some ass!"

"Wow," Naruto said, taking note to never comment on Sakura's forehead…_ever._

From below though, Temari seemed completely unfazed by the unexpected outburst. Although, she did seem to be more alert than she had been a moment ago.

_I'll show her…_Sakura said as she began to concentrate on her jutsu and performed the necessary hand signs.

Temari brought her weapon back and held it close to her body, preparing herself for what was coming. She stiffened slightly though as she watched her opponent suddenly became foggy and blurred, almost translucent. In a matter of seconds, he had completely disappeared.

At this moment, most Genins would probably begin looking frantically around for their opponent, leaving themselves wide open for an attack. Unfortunately for her opponent, Temari was _not _like most Genin. There was no way for someone to actually become invisible, only concealed. That meant that either she had cast some type of ninjutsu on herself to make her blend into her surroundings, or this girl was a Genjutsu specialist. She guessed that it was probably the later, since the girl hadn't seemed all that powerful or threatening at all in the first place.

With a smirk, Temari brandished her weapon around her again and opened it, revealing its true identity…a giant fan with three circles drawn on it.

"Ah, so Sakura uses Genjutsu, interesting," Kabuto said, crossing his arms and nodding. "It's too bad though, if she maybe had another opponent, she possibly could have won."

"What do you mean?!" Kiba yelled, pointing at the glassed Genin angrily. "You don't know the first thing about Sakura! She's a great ninja!"

"I'm not saying that she isn't," Kabuto replied while pushing his glasses up. "Just watch…"

Temari suddenly brought her fan back and swiped it all around her body. The result of this seemingly pointless action was the entire room suddenly filling with wind, so violent that the large, red hat that sat upon the Hokage's head suddenly blew off high into the air, revealing his partially bald head.

"Wow," Naruto said as he brought his hand up and shielded his eyes. "That's a pretty good fan. I bet that thing comes in handy on a really hot day."

"…Naruto, sometimes the less you talk, the smarter you seem," Shikamaru said with a sigh. The blonde glared at Shikamaru angrily, but everyone else around him just laughed, and then turned their attention back to the main level.

Temari smiled suddenly, looking over to her right side. Not moving at all, she once again brought back her fan and blasted a torrent of wind in that direction. Her smile widened even more as the Genjutsu that she was under broke as the strong gust of wind blasted the girl at full force and sent her flying into the wall behind her.

"What the hell?!" Kiba yelled, leaning forward to get a better look down below. "How did she know where Sakura was? I thought that I was the only one who could pinpoint where she was with my nose!" From on top of his head, Akamaru gave a small whine as he saw Sakura shakily try and rise to her feet.

"It seems that that first blast of wind that she used to fill the entire room was used to pinpoint Sakura's location," Kakashi said as Temari began to walk forward toward Sakura. "In Sunagakure, there are some shinobi that are capable of manipulating wind with their chakra and utilize it during battle. Even though she couldn't see Sakura, she could tell where she was by where the wind hit her. Her attacks seem to cover a wide range as well, so all she needed was to attack in the direction that she knew Sakura was and…well you guys saw it for yourselves."

Trying her best to ignore the pain that seemed to have erupted through her entire body, Sakura was finally able to stand to her feet. Reaching back into her weapons pouch, she ran forward as she drew out three shuriken and threw them at Temari. The wind master didn't even stop walking, and merely swung her fan one more time, making Sakura fall once again to the floor and each of the shuriken fly back at her and into the wall behind her. One shuriken actually grazed her right shoulder.

"Game over," Temari said, now only feet away from Sakura. Closing her fan, she jabbed it hard into Sakura's stomach, just as she was rising to her feet to escape. With a cough, Sakura slumped over and fell to the ground.

"Sakura is no longer able to battle," Hayate said. "Temari wins the match."

Temari let out another sniff before turning around and beginning to walk back to the balcony where the rest of her team waited for her. She stopped and turned her head though when she saw a woman with odd crimson eyes appear next to Sakura.

"…She's just fine you know," Temari said, still looking back at her. "I didn't hit her that hard. I just knocked her out long enough so that the match could be called."

Kurenai looked back at Temari for only a moment before picking up Sakura in her hands and jumping up to the balcony above her. Immediately, she was surrounded by Kiba, Choji, and Ino.

"Is she really alright?" Choji asked worriedly.

"Yes, she's fine," the Genjutsu mistress said back, placing her up against the wall. "See, she's already coming around."

Just as she said, Sakura's eyes began to flutter open. Looking around her confusedly, she tried to shake off the dizziness that surrounded her and grabbed her head.

"…What happened?" she asked.

Kiba and Choji looked at each other, both of them obviously not wanting to be the ones to inform Sakura of her defeat. Kurenai decided to let the two off the hook this time.

"I'm afraid that you lost, Sakura," she said, and her student looked back up at her with a horrified look on her face. "But don't worry. You did great, and I'm proud of you for making it this far in the exam."

Though Sakura nodded back in understanding, she still turned her head away in shame.

"We will now move onto the next match," Hayate said, coughing once before looking back up to the screen above him. After a few moments of the computer whizzing through every name of the Genins, they finally halted to reveal the next two opponents.

**Uchiha Sasuke versus Abumi Zaku.**

"Hmph. Looks like it's finally my turn," Sasuke said with an excited smirk on his face. He then turned his head to Kabuto beside him. "Either of your teammates name Zaku?"

"Nope," Kabuto said back, looking to the balcony across the room. "If I had to guess, I'd say that it would be the other male Genin from Otogakure."

Sasuke's black eyes darted to the other side of the room, spotting his opponent. He found that Zaku was staring right back at him. Sasuke could have also sworn that he saw his opponent shaking in excitement as he began his decent down the stairs to the main level.

"…Hinata," Sasuke said, turning his head to his childhood friend and not noticing Ino's furious glare at him not addressing her, "you fought this guy in the forest, didn't you? Any special abilities that I should know about?"

"Um…he specializes in far range attacks. He's able to launch some kind of wind powered bursts out of both of his arms to attack. It's pretty powerful, so you should be careful, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke looked back at the purple eyed Hyuuga in surprise. That was definitely something that he wasn't expecting. It looked like his opponent was slightly more dangerous than he had first thought. Then again, if he was a long range fighter that meant that all he had to do was keep close so that he wouldn't be able to use his jutsu. Easy enough.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," he said with a thankful nod to Hinata. He then turned back to Naruto and gave him a snide grin. "Make sure you watch carefully, dobe. Here's your chance of learning how an Uchiha fights without you getting your ass kicked. You probably won't get this chance again."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto said, rolling his eyes. "Just make sure that you don't lose. I wouldn't want you to feel sad when I make Chunin and leave you behind."

"Dream on, dobe," Sasuke said with a chuckle before turning back to his teammates and Asuma, giving all three of them a nod.

"Good luck, Sasuke," Shino said respectively, which Sasuke returned with another nod.

"Don't worry, Sasuke-kun, you'll be able to take on this loser with no problem whatsoever!" Ino added punching the air with a wide smile. Her grin fell though when Sasuke merely sighed back at her comment and turned around to make his way down the stairs.

Finally making it down the stairs and to the main floor, Sasuke looked first to the sickly proctor beside him and then back to Zaku across from him. Zaku was definitely in a serious mood for the battle, glaring daggers at Sasuke. It was obvious that he was taking his match much more seriously than his teammate who had fought Shikamaru had. He didn't look overconfident or cocky. He was completely focused on Sasuke in front of him.

"I've been waiting to get my chance to fight you," Zaku said, finally smiling in excitement. "You were lucky back in the forest that your friend took me out with that sneak attack of hers. If I had been around to fight you when you woke up, you wouldn't even be here right now."

Sasuke was about to reply back with a sharp comment, but instead winced violently as pain shot through his body, originating from the location on his neck. He silently cursed that the mark on his neck was still causing problems for him. After he had separated from Naruto's team in the Forest of Death, his team had come across another team the next day. When Sasuke had attempted to use his Sharingan again, his body had frozen in place, not moving no matter what Sasuke tried. If it wasn't for Ino's quick reactions and the assistance of the bugs that Shino had recruited in the forest, he'd be probably missing his right arm. Since he had arrived to the tower, he had tried repeatedly to use his Sharingan again, but only ended up with the same results as before. Using it now would be not only risky, but stupid. He would have to make due without it. Otherwise, the mark on his neck might make him a costly mistake that may cause him to lose the match, or worse.

"Alright then," Hayate said, outstretching his arms to the two opponents in front of him. "The next match will be between Uchiha Sasuke and Abumi Zaku. If both of the combatants are ready…you may beg-"

"Zankuuha!" Zaku shouted suddenly, outstretching his arms in front of him. Sasuke's eyes widened in alarm as he quickly jumped to the side. Barely even a second later, the entire area where he had been standing was ripped with a violent blast of wind. A loud outcry from many of the Genin on the top balcony erupted as they all skidded backwards from the powerful attack. Though Zaku could hear many of them yelling curses down at him now, he did not respond or even acknowledge the shouts. Instead, he stretched his arms out and fired air blast after air blast as Sasuke darted around the room to dodge the attacks.

"That was such a cheap move!" Ino yelled, gripping the railing in front of her and holding out her fist at Zaku. "Isn't there some kind of rule against that or something?"

"Unfortunately, all of the matches in the Chunin exams are meant to have no rules at all," Asuma said as he watched the match down carefully. "Though such a maneuver is not actually looked highly upon, the proctor is not allowed to interfere now that the match has begun. Well, he could, but then Sasuke would automatically lose the match."

"I just hope that Sasuke-kun will be okay," Hinata said worriedly. Though Naruto didn't say anything, he couldn't help but agree with her.

Sasuke cursed as he dodged yet another blast of wind from his opponent while pulling out three shuriken in with one swift motion and threw them at Zaku. A groan escaped his lips though when Zaku merely let out a low powered burst out of his arms and knocked the weapons harmlessly out of the way.

Deciding that he needed to go more on the offensive, Sasuke changed directions and charged straight at his opponent. He needed to get close enough so that Zaku couldn't pull off his attacks. If he kept keeping his distance, he'll never get a chance to get an attack in. As soon as he began running at him though, Zaku merely sent out another blast of wind which Sasuke was forced to dodge again. The most frustrating part was that Zaku was adapting more to Sasuke's moves with every dodge he made. He was no longer using both of his arms to attack simultaneously. One of the attacks that he used with his arms would force Sasuke to change directions. After that, he would soon follow up with another Zankuuha from his other hand to try and get Sasuke off balance. Though he wasn't able to actually catch Sasuke with this strategy, Sasuke would always be forced to put more distance between him and Zaku in order to dodge the follow up attack.

Stopping suddenly and kneeling down, he looked back angrily at Zaku's smug face as the Oto nin paused momentarily also, panting just as much as Sasuke. It seemed that his powerful attacks paid a price. Though Sasuke had been the one that had been the one darting around the room, Zaku seemed to be just as tired as he was despite the fact that he hadn't even moved an inch since the match had begun. The thought of just dodging Zaku's attacks continuously until he was out of chakra crossed his mind, but then realized that it was too risky. Sasuke was tired also, and the more exhausted he became, the more likely it was that he would make a mistake. If that happened, he would end up with a wind blast in the face and probably a kunai in the abdomen soon after. He would have to come up with a new plan.

With an aggravated groan, he momentarily looked up at the balcony where his team and the other members of the Rookie Nine watched him. Naruto was shouting something annoying, just as he always was, while Ino was trying to cheer him on and shut up Naruto both at the same time. Shino merely stared down at the paused battle, his hazel eyes obviously evaluating the match closely. That was just like Shino, always trying to get the upper hand on him. Sasuke couldn't say that he was any different though. Finally, he looked over at his sensei, Asuma, and was surprised to see that his teacher was looking down at him with a frustrated frown on his face. When he saw Sasuke's confused gaze, he just shook his head before tossing his cigarette on the floor on his feet and stomped on it with his heel.

The simple action caused Sasuke's dark eyes suddenly widen as one of his most recent training sessions with Asuma reawakened in his memory. It was at the very end their training, if you could have called it training. If Sasuke would have put it more officially, he would have called it him and his teammates each getting their asses handed to them by Asuma. Just as he always did, Asuma would take out his cigarette that he had been smoking the entire time during their training, smothered it into the ground, and then told each of them what they had done wrong. On this certain occasion, it had turned out that Asuma was trying to set Sasuke up for a situation where he could have quickly gained the upper hand. He had repeatedly used a variety of Futon jutsus, a specialty of his, against him and had been hoping that he would have countered him with one of his Katon techniques that he was renowned for. Apparently, fire beat wind…

Standing to his feet, Sasuke had to admit that he wasn't too sure of this plan. If he countered it with his fire jutsu, there was no telling how it would react. No doubt it would result in a massive expanse of fire in the area, but would that hurt himself more than his opponent? Not to mention that he wasn't even sure if he could pull of the jutsu. If he had trouble using his Sharingan, why wouldn't there be a difference when he used ninjutsu.

"Well, it looks like I don't have much of a choice in the matter," Sasuke muttered to himself as he rose to his feet. Zaku's eyebrows lowered into a scowl as the Uchiha stood to his feet and began to gather his chakra. Immediately, he was hit with a quick jolt of pain through his body. Taking in a cleansing breath, he ignored the pain and began going through the required seals.

When Zaku saw this, he quickly raised both his arms at Sasuke once again. "Zankuuha!" he yelled. When he did, Sasuke began running through the seals even quicker than before. Biting back the extreme pain that was rushing through his body, he took in the deepest breath he could, all the while praying that this would work.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Sasuke yelled, exhaling the fireball. No doubt, this one was quite weaker than the ones that he had been able to utilize before entering the Chunin Exams. It did its job though. When the two opposing elements collided, the once meager fireball Sasuke had produced seemed to explode, filling the room with intense heat.

Shielding his eyes for only a moment, Sasuke put his plan into action. Turning around, he quickly ran to the wall that was bellow the balcony. Focusing his chakra to his feet as Asuma had taught him, he sprinted up the wall and launched himself higher in the air, but not before flashing a quick smirk at Naruto's shocked face.

Looking down below as he fell, he could see Zaku shielding his face from the inferno in front of him, his shouts being lost in the giant flame. The fire had also acted as a temporary shield to block Zaku's view from him. In fact, the entire other side of the arena seemed to have no idea where Sasuke had gone. Well, all except two he noticed. One was the youngest of the Suna squad, who was staring up at him with strangely widened eyes. The other was the sensei from Otogakure, gazing at Sasuke with a look he could not place.

Zaku's eyes widened in shock as Sasuke suddenly dropped down from above, landing only three feet away from him. The Uchiha smiled, because if there was one thing that he knew that he was good at, it was speed and taijutsu. Pulling back his fist, he delivered a strong punch right into Zaku's face. When the Oto nin tried to recover, Sasuke jumped into the air and roundhouse kicked him again in the chest. Finally, he dashed one last time at Zaku as he collided into the wall behind him. Zaku barely even had enough time to open his eyes again before Sasuke's fist collided into his stomach, causing his head to instinctively lean back and knock up against the wall behind him.

"…Bastard," Zaku muttered weakly, looking at Sasuke one last time as his eyes became glazed. With one last groan, the Genin from Otogakure fell to the floor, motionless.

When he was sure that his opponent was finished, Sasuke too dropped to his knees, breathing deeply and clutching the back of his neck as he finally allowed the pain to run through his body. He hardly noticed the sprinklers on the high ceiling above him turn on and rain down on him and the roaring flames behind him. His jutsu had taken a lot more out of him than he had thought, even though it shouldn't have done so. Whatever this seal was, it was something that he had to watch out for and keep under control, if that was even possible. He had not forgotten what it had done to him back in the forest when he had first faced the Genins from Otogakure. He had to be cautious…suddenly, he wondered if Shino or Naruto was having this sort of trouble as well.

Apparently, the proctor had announced that he had won the match, since he had suddenly become surrounded by Hinata, Naruto and Ino, each asking if he was alright. Some more politely than others…

"I'm fine," Sasuke finally responded, rising to his feet and giving all of them a reassuring nod. Looking past them, he saw Asuma standing behind him and, surprisingly, Naruto's sensei, Kakashi if he remembered correctly.

"Alright, alright, you heard Sasuke, he's fine," Asuma said to the other Genin in front of the victor of the match. "Now let's give him some space. You three can go back to the balcony."

"What? We just came down to tell him good job," Naruto said staring at Asuma. Why was he being so uptight?

"Asuma is right, Naruto," Kakashi said, looking seriously back at his student. "You should go back to the balcony. You'll be able to see Sasuke later."

With a groan from the two blondes in the group and a disappointed frown from Hinata, the three Genin gave one last congratulatory comment to Sasuke and turned away back to the balcony.

"…And what was that all about?" Sasuke asked the two Jonin in front of him.

"It's better that they are away for this," Asuma said in a soft voice so that only Sasuke and Kakashi could hear him. "What's important right now is that seal that is on your neck. Yes, we know about it," Asuma said as Sasuke's face suddenly turned to surprise. "That thing is dangerous, as you've probably already figured out by now. So you're coming with me. I've been researching how to seal the mark ever since I got word that you received it."

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Kakashi suddenly interrupted, placing his hand on Asuma's shoulder, "but if you want I can do the sealing on Sasuke." Asuma looked back at Kakashi with a questioningly. "I haven't forgotten the deal that we made back when we were assigned our squads," Kakashi continued. "It will give me the chance to get to know the boy, and him get to know me."

"…What about your other two Genins? And Naruto? Don't you need to perform the sealing jutsu on him?"

"Oh, I have no doubt that they'll both be fine. And don't worry about Naruto. The Hokage and I have already arranged a plan. Besides, you'll have to ask for someone's help eventually. The jutsu required for the sealing takes a lot of chakra, and if you do it now you won't be able to perform it again for Shino. Let me take him, it will be fine."

"Alright then," Asuma said, looking down at Sasuke who was looking back at the two with an annoyed look on his face. Asuma knew that the Uchiha was not used to being ignored, being constantly the center of attention ever since he was young.

"Sasuke, this is Kakashi, he's a friend of mine," Asuma said looking back at the masked Jonin behind him, which said Jonin gave a closed eye smile and wave to Sasuke. "He's going to go and take care of your seal. I'm going to have to wait here until Shino is done with his fight."

"But I want to watch the other matches. Besides, why him?" Sasuke asked, eyeing Kakashi warily.

"Don't worry, you have nothing to be cautious about around me," Kakashi said, suddenly brining his hand up to his hitae-ate. "Besides…we both have more in common than you might expect." Sasuke's eyes suddenly widened in surprise as Kakashi pulled down his headband and revealed his Sharingan.

"How do you…?!"

"Another story for another time," Kakashi responded, once again shielding his left eye once again behind his headband. "For right now, the more important thing to worry about is that seal on your neck. Come on, the sooner that we get done with, the sooner you'll be able to get back to watch the other fights that you want to see so badly. Well, if you're still conscious at least."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at Kakashi, but with one last glance over at Asuma, he nodded to both of them and began to follow his fellow Sharingan user out of the room.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled, making Asuma turn his head toward the other balcony. "Where's Kakashi-sensei going?!"

With a sigh, Asuma made a quick seal and vanished, only to reappear right behind Naruto and beside Kurenai. "Kakashi decided to escort Sasuke over to the infirmary. Don't worry, he shouldn't take too much time to get there and come back. If he hurries and depending on the amount of time that the other matches take, he might be able to come back and see your matches."

"Kakashi-sensei? Hurry? Man, this entire thing will be over by the time he gets back," Naruto mumbled, leaning back on the wall in obvious disappointment.

Kabuto listened slightly to the conversation beside him, but his mind was still running the entire match that had just occurred through his head repeatedly. Truthfully, he was surprised at how well Sasuke had done in his match. Though he had never actually seen Zaku fight before, there was a reason that he was one of the Genins that Orochimaru had chosen to go after Sasuke. He had obvious reason not to send the Sound Four, they were needed elsewhere, not to mention that it would have been just plain cruel.

Kabuto, being Orochimaru's lead researcher in how the seal affects the human body, knew full well what exactly the cursed seal was capable of. In its early stages, it is very difficult to use chakra at all to a certain extent, and most of the time using jutsus in general was plain out of the question. But Sasuke had been able to use his Katon technique. True, it wasn't at full power, but he still had accomplished it none the less. That was proof of the boy's promise. Apparently, Orochimaru had thought so too. With everyone staring down at Kakashi, Asuma, and Sasuke after the end of the last match, no one had noticed that the Jonin from Oto had mysteriously disappeared…

"Well, now that the fire is all gone…" Hayate said as he made a couple hand seals in quick succession. After finishing, a sudden gust of wind filled the entire room and quickly pushed the water to the outermost regions of the area. Though the floor was still slightly blackened, every thing seemed set for the next match. "Without further delay, we'll move on to the next match."

"Alright!" Lee suddenly yelled, punching his fist into the air. "Now it is my turn, I can just feel it."

"Oh come on, Lee," Tenten said to her teammate, but still grinning at his enthusiasm. "How can you be so sure that you are going to be next?"

"I do not know, Tenten," Lee responded, though he gripped his bandaged hand into a fist in confidence. "It is just a feeling that I have…just you wait! One of the names that are about to appear on that screen overhead is going to be my name!"

"That's my Lee, always eager for the next match," Gai said, nodding in approval. If Kakashi had been there, he would have probably made a comment to him about how much Lee had progressed since Gai had taken him under his wing.

The computer suddenly beeped, bringing everyone's eyes upwards to see the next two opponents. Both Gai and Tenten's mouths immediately dropped open in shock, though it was not just because that Lee had been correct that he would be the one fighting in the next match. No, it was his opponent that had shocked them speechless.

Lee's raised fist suddenly dropped to his side, hardly believing himself what he was seeing. The green clad Genin then gripped both of his hands again, staring right at his opponent, which he found had in turn returned the same kind of heated glare. Suddenly, an excited grin spread across Lee's face. He couldn't have asked anything more for this exam…

"Alright," Hayate said with a cough, turning his head toward the balcony where the combatants were located. "The opponents for the next match have been decided. Will Rock Lee and Hyuuga Neji please descend to the main level…"

* * *

_Well, there you have it, the first chapter of the Chunin Exam prelims. Hope that you enjoyed it. Personally, I'm pretty pleased with how fast I got this out. I've been doing a lot of editing to my story, specifically in the first chapters. Hell, I added an entire new scene in Chapter 5 concerning how Naruto first met Haku. Kind of makes it more believable that the team would give out their secrets to Haku so readily...Anyways, I do hope that you enjoyed this chapter. It took a lot of thought and effort to do. Please, please leave a review. I was (and still am) pretty disappointed on the amount that I got last chapter. _

_So, to finish up, thank you for reading. I've been looking forward to this next chapter_ forever_! Let's just hope that I turn it into a fight that it should live up to be. Until next next time, my fellow fans of fan fiction!_

GAZ


	21. A Battle of Geniuses

_Welcome back, loyal readers to A Different Path. Before we get started, I just want to say one thing...399 reviews!? I can't get one more stinkin' review in the last chapter to get up to 400?! Okay, I'm done. I just wished that I could have just gotten _one_ more review to reach that high milestone. Oh well...just gotta move one, right? _

_Anyways, here's the long awaited match between Lee and Neji. I've been pretty much planning out this entire match for quite some time. In the end I still ended up taking some stuff out and putting some stuff in. All I need to hope for now is that you, the readers, will find it enjoyable. I always get worried everytime I get out a new chapter...I guess that's only normal for a writer though._

_Well, with that said, let's get on to the chapter._

_I don't own Naruto._

* * *

The entire arena had fallen silent at the appearance of the two names that shone overhead. **Rock Lee vs. Hyuuga Neji.** Yet the actual reactions from the individuals in the room were mixed though. Understandably, the shinobi who were not from Konoha only looked around the room with slightly annoyed expressions for any sign of the two opponents making their way to the main level, unaware that the two were in truth members of the same squad. Then there was the majority of the room who merely raised their eyebrows in surprise that two teammates had been pitted against each other to face each other, unaware of the twos' past and interaction with the other.

Then there was the group that Naruto was a part of, the select few that had been stunned speechless by the upcoming match. He had to shake his head to bring himself out of the temporary shock he was experiencing. Lee and Neji? What were the chances for that? He looked across from him and found that both Tenten and Gai, like himself, had gone into a similar state of astonishment, if not even more intense. Tenten's chestnut eyes seemed to be nearly bugging out of their sockets in shock, and Gai seemed not at all aware of how ridiculous…okay, more ridiculous he looked with his jaw hanging down ajar.

His eyes then turned to Lee and Neji, both of whom had gone into a staring contest with the other, Lee's round black eyes locked with Neji's own blank and empty ones, neither of them making any move to head for the lower level. Tenten looked at both them from side to side nervously, both of them on either side of her.

"Um, will the two opponents please come to the main level?" Hayate asked once again before going into yet another fit of coughs.

If either Lee or Neji heard what the proctor had said, neither of them supplied any indication of it. For a moment, Naruto wondered if the two were going to settle this with just a staring contest, but that thought was soon banished as both Neji and Lee turned away from each other and finally made their way toward the steps.

As Lee passed by Naruto, the blonde opened his mouth to voice his encouragement but it suddenly snapped shut once again, remembering the stabbing pain that he always had to endure whenever he did anything that was not to Neji's liking. He had little doubt that if he said too much, Neji might activate his seal. With or without the demon fox's help, he still did not wish to fight off the severe headache that he would have to endure afterward. He needed to be in top shape as well, he still hadn't fought his match either.

With his eyes locked on Lee the entire time, he had not noticed that Neji had decided to take the opposite route than what his teammate had taken, instead making his way to the other staircase on the other side of the balcony. As he watched, Naruto realized that the way Neji had decided to go was much shorter than Lee's. He also saw that it led toward the side where all of the Hokage and Jonin supervisors were assembled, not to mention his own father. Even with his back facing Naruto, he could tell that Neji's eyes were staring straight out in front of him, unwavering against the many stares that followed his every step.

Looking back again at Lee, he saw that even though Lee's path was longer than Neji's he walked at such a pace that he would most probably reach his staircase at the same time as his teammate. Whether it was because of excitement or it was just how he naturally walked, Naruto wasn't sure.

As he passed by every single one of the Genins, he did so without even a single word to any of them. Naruto had half expected the oddly clad Genin to start yelling of how his victory was assured or shouting challenges to Neji by his own past experiences while being around Lee. But instead, he was silent and looked completely focused on the battle that was coming up. Naruto had never seen Lee look so determined before.

Naruto's grip on the railing suddenly tightened as he looked down at his hands and gritted his teeth together. No matter what his new ties and duties to Neji were now that he was a Hyuuga, he could not bring himself to root for him. Though both Lee and Naruto had only sparred on a handful of occasions since they had first met, he couldn't deny how hard Lee had worked to get to where he was now. This is the moment that Lee had been awaiting for so long, the chance to beat Neji and show how far he has come. But hadn't Lee said himself that he had never beaten Neji at anything before?

Naruto vigorously shook his head, casting out the thought. Lee would win, he was sure of it. He worked ten, no, a _hundred _times harder everyday than what Neji did in a month! Neji couldn't win against all of that training that Lee had gone through. It was impossible!

"Well, this ought to be an interesting fight," Asuma said while leaning up against the wall and putting into his mouth a newly lit cigarette, replacing the first that he had finished a moment ago. "The prodigal Hyuuga Neji against the hard working Rock Lee…I've heard that both of these kids are extremely talented, two of the best that Konoha had to offer this year. It's a shame, Gai. No matter who ends up winning this match, one of your students will still be out of the exam. Not that I'm complaining, gives my kids more of a chance to move on."

"Huh?" Gai said, looking over at Asuma in surprise. "Um, yes. Of course," Gai responded, though he said this while darting his eyes from one of his students to the other. Naruto could only wonder what was going through Gai's head at the moment. If Naruto would guess, he would say that he would root for Lee to win, even though he seemed to not want to show his favoritism that everyone was aware of.

"They're that good, huh?" Kiba said while Akamaru atop his head leaned forward to try and get a better look over his master's fluffy hood. "Well, if these guys are as good as everyone says they are, and then I'm looking forward to this match. Sounds like it could go either way."

"Don't count on it." Everyone's eyes suddenly looked over to Tenten. Naruto suddenly realized that instead of the shocked face that she had held moments ago, she now looked…bored? When she noticed Naruto and the other Genin's questioning stares, she realized that she would need to elaborate for them. "At least four times every week, Lee challenges Neji to a sparring match saying that he's going to defeat him. Every time though, Neji would always come up on top. Even when Lee…broke a couple of his own rules."

"Rules?" Shino asked, seeming to be just as interested in the conversation as everyone else was.

Tenten merely shrugged and turned back to the match bellow. "You'll see soon enough."

Lee and Neji were finally down to the main level, both of them once again locked into a stare down as they had when they were on the balcony. Naruto again noted how determined Lee looked, completely focused and locked onto Neji like it was the only thing that mattered in the world to him. Neji, on the other hand, looked at Lee with an impassive stare back, not at all similar to Lee's features. He didn't look at all worried, let alone focused on the match. Naruto's hatred toward Neji suddenly grew even larger than ever before.

"You do not know how long I have been waiting for this moment, Neji," Lee said. He was not in his usual fighting stance, instead standing erect and gripping his bandaged right hand into a fist. "This is finally the day when I can show everyone that hard work is just as powerful as possessing natural talent!"

"Don't be foolish," Neji replied back, closing his eyes. "You know just as I do how this match will end. We have gone through this exact situation countless times in the past with each of them ending in the same way. You are going to lose, Lee," he said, his last sentence hanging in the air as if to force Lee to soak it in.

Naruto's eyes suddenly drifted back to Hizashi, who still held his place behind Neji beside the large number of other Jonins in the room. Not surprisingly, the Hyuuga clan leader merely continued to watch the scene in front of him with his face completely devoid of any expression whatsoever. Whatever he was feeling, he seemed determined to not let any know what they may be.

"…Some of what you say is true," Lee said softly, turning his head down to his bandaged hand, a testament to all of the hard work he had struggled through. "I never have beaten you. Not at one thing in my entire life." His hand once again gripped into a fist, and Lee's eyes went back to Neji. "But this time is different. If my hundred percent is not good enough to beat you, then I will just have to use two hundred percent. And if that is not enough, then I will put in three hundred percent! No matter what, Neji, I vow that I will _not_ lose this match!"

"Hmph," Neji grunted while turning his head away from Lee. "You never did get it. The two of us are complete opposites of each other. There are those who are destined to be strong and rule, while there are those who are destined and serve the strong. You, Lee, are in the later category. It is not for me to decide. Our paths were laid out for us from the moment of our births. It is our destinies. We can't escape it, no matter what we wish."

"Bull shit!"

All eyes suddenly went to Naruto, the blonde gritting his teeth in anger and gripping the railing so tightly that his knuckles were white. He didn't care about how everyone was staring at him though. Screw the seal, screw the clan's rules! He wasn't going to just sit around and let Neji talk this way to Lee.

"Don't you dare listen to a single thing he says, Lee!" Naruto yelled even louder. "There's no way that this ass hole can beat you! You can do it! Kick his ass!"

Naruto's legs suddenly gave way and he found himself on the ground rolling in pain, having barely even glimpsed the sudden flip of the wrist that Neji had performed. The moment he hit the floor, Hinata dropped to her knees as well in a panic and was at his side, though he hardly even knew it through the blinding pain that was in his head. Suddenly, the pain dulled, but it still hurt enough to give Naruto a horrible headache. It seemed that the Kyuubi inside of him still kept his promise to dull the seal's pain when activated. At least he upheld his bargains.

"Neji!" Lee yelled, pointing at his opponent angrily. "Stop this! Naruto has nothing to do with this, let him go!"

Turning his eyes toward Lee with his hand still in the air, the Hyuuga merely stared at his teammate for a moment. After a long pause, he finally lowered his hand and turned back toward Lee, not even looking up at Naruto as he struggled to raise himself off of the ground.

"Naruto, please refrain from provoking Neji for the rest of the match," Lee called out to the blonde. "I do not wish for you to be injured. Also…I want all of Neji's attention to be on me for this match."

Naruto shakily attempted to raise himself to his feet and was able to see Shikamaru making his way over to aid Hinata in helping him to his feet, but felt another arm grip him before Shikamaru could reach him. Looking up, Naruto watched in surprise as Shino knelt down beside him and put Naruto's arm around his shoulder and helped him rise to his feet.

When Naruto was able to safely steady himself with the help of the railing in front of him, he looked over at Shino in question, still not able to hide the surprise on his face. The detached bug user just looked back at him with his hazel eyes and merely gave a nod to him in return before looking back to the level below, avoiding Naruto's gaze. For a moment, Naruto almost felt like he was going to laugh. It almost seemed like Shino was embarrassed about helping him.

He finally took his eyes off of Shino beside him and looked down once again at Lee, his eyes immediately connecting with Lee's own. After a couple more moments of silence, Naruto reluctantly nodded down to his friend, which Lee returned with the thumbs up a pearly white smile which Naruto took to be a sign of reassurance that he'd be okay. He sure hoped so…

Hayate let out a loud cough and decided to take a step forward so that everyone would turn back to him. This was getting out of hand. He needed to start this match on the road already. He suspected that the two had had enough time to blather on at each other already.

"Okay," Hayate said while clearing his throat, starting to feel tired of repeating the same thing so many times. "The next match will be against Rock Lee and Hyuuga Neji. Whenever the two of you are ready, you may begin."

Lee dropped into his normal battle pose, partially bending down while placing his left hand behind his back and putting out his right hand with his palm facing him. Neji prepared himself as well. With a few quick series of quick hand seals, he activated his Byakugan before shifting into his own Jyuuken stance, his right arm slightly outstretched while the other was kept slightly at his side to block any counter attack that may be thrown at him.

Even as a novice at Jyuuken fighting, Naruto suddenly realized how much Neji had been holding back when he drilled Naruto in Jyuuken. He had never dropped into such a perfect stance before. Naruto could not see one opening that could be taken advantage of. Looking over, he saw that Hinata had also noticed how efficient his stance was by her widened eyes as she looked down at her cousin. Naruto turned back to the main level, though he did feel slightly more worried for Lee now.

Another moment passed and still the two opponents did not charge at each other. They just continued to watch the other. Waiting…

"…Um, did you two hear me?" Hayate asked, looking at the two of them in turn. "I said that-"

He stopped in mid sentence as Lee suddenly dashed forward and jumped into the air.

"Konoha Daisenpu!" Lee yelled, swinging his body around for a powerful roundhouse kick.

Sliding to the right and ducking down, Neji easily maneuvered below the kick, but did not retaliate with a counter attack. Even with his failure of landing a hit, Lee would not give up so easily. Leaping into the air, he brought down his leg and attempted to connect with Neji's head, but Neji once again dodged and Lee's foot hit the ground, causing the floor where his foot connected with to crack underneath him. Again, Lee did not give up and continued his assault on Neji.

"Whoa, look at him go," Choji said, staring down with wide eyes at Lee. "He's really giving it his all."

"Of course," Gai said, finally speaking up, though his attention was still drawn to the battle on the main level. "For as long as I've known him Lee has always given his all to accomplish his goals. That determination is the reason that Lee has come as far as he has."

"Yeah, but still, he still never has beaten Neji," Sakura said with a surprising amount of worry in her voice.

Gai did not respond back.

Again, Lee charged at Neji and this time attempted a few powerful punches at Neji. Though he was able to land a glancing blow on his opponent's shoulder, Neji was able to regain his balance quickly and continued to dodge Lee's attacks. .

Lee let out a grunt in frustration before he pulled back his fist once again and aimed for Neji's head, but this time Neji turned aside Lee's punch with his open palm and smirked as his teammate realized how vulnerable he had become in his moment of irritation. Neji let out a quick burst of jyuuken energy from his body and Lee began to stumble back, caught off balance by the unorthodox yet still effective tactic. Now Neji was on the offensive. His hands suddenly began to glow with the bluish tint that that the Jyuuken style was known for and began his attack.

Still off balance from the Jyuuken burst Neji had performed, Lee raised his arm and blocked Neji's first blow with his arm, though he winced along with Naruto on the stands as the damage took its effect. It had been a very solid hit. Though there wouldn't be any excessive damage since there obviously weren't any organs where Neji's palm had connected, Lee' arm suddenly dropped limply to his side. Neji had already gained the advantage at such an early point in the match.

After dodging the next couple of swipes Neji attempted, Lee jumped back to put some distance between the two to regain his composure and drop back into his fighting stance. The green clad Genin clenched his pearly white teeth together in frustration as he began to rub his arm back to life. All of his attacks had been completely ineffective. Each tactic he had come up with had been quickly read by Neji and was turned against him. Neji was predicting and countering each of his moves like it was nothing, and Lee did not know how to stop it.

"Take them off, Lee," Neji suddenly said, looking completely serious.

"Okay, this just got awkward," Naruto said as Kiba burst out laughing and Hinata's face turned a bright shade of scarlet.

"You know that you don't stand a chance against me while you still carry those," Neji continued, not at all daunted by the reaction that was occurring around him. "If you wish to give me your all, you have no choice but to do so."

"I'm sorry Neji, but I cannot do that," Lee said as he bent his arm and clenched his fist repeatedly to rejuvenate his arm. "Gai-sensei has specifically instructed me that-"

"Do as he says, Lee."

Everyone turned to Gai as the words left his lips, his face still completely serious and his arms crossed over his chest. "What Neji says is true. For you to fight at your fullest potential, you must fight with nothing to hold you back. …Neji, Lee, as your sensei I give both of you full permission to use any and all abilities at your disposal for this match. No conditions, no questions, and no hesitation. Fight with all you possess."

For a moment, everyone was silent as the continued to look up at Gai. Finally, Lee nodded and knelt down before pulling off his orange leg braces, revealing the weights that were strapped to them.

"Leg weights?" Kurenai asked, looking over at Gai. "That was that whole speech was about? Sure, it will make a small difference, but is it really that big of a deal?"

"No kidding, sensei. I was actually starting to think that this guy was going to do something impressive," Kiba said nodding in agreement.

Lee brought both of his arms back and threw both of his weights behind him toward the entrance of the room. One of them immediately fell to the ground and created a large crater that sent up a cloud of dust throughout the arena. The other connected with the wall underneath the balcony on the other side of the arena, taking out a large portion of the wall and forcing those on the upper level to move to a safer location farther down the balcony.

"Holy crap!" Naruto yelled, leaning over the edge to get a better look. When he looked back at everyone else, he noticed Kiba staring down at Lee with his mouth agape and his eyes wide.

"Now," Gai said seriously before a small trace of a smile appeared on his lips, "the real match begins."

With one last cleansing breath, Lee bent his knees…and vanished.

"Hey, where'd he go?!" Shikamaru asked, looking around to try and locate Lee.

Everyone stopped looking for Lee though when they suddenly witnessed Neji fly backwards and skid on the hard floor for several feet before he finally stopped again. When they all looked back to where he had been hit, Lee stood with his fist outstretched along with a triumphant grin plastered on his face.

"How'd he do that?" Shikamaru asked in wonder. "I didn't even see him move! It's like he vanished and reappeared in front of Neji."

"Lee is a unique student," Gai said as his smile grew even more from before. "You see, what many are not aware of is that Lee is incapable of performing either ninjutsu or genjutsu of any level."

"What?" Sakura asked, looking over at Gai in surprise. "That's impossible. How did he ever pass the academy?"

"Actually, Lee is the first to pass the exam without using either of the abilities," the green clad Jonin continued. "After he became my student, it soon became clear to me that he would probably never be able to use either of those jutsus for all his life. So, since we both decided that it would be useless to continue trying, we agreed that we would from then on focus on taijutsu and taijutsu alone. You see, Neji is not the only genius in this fight. Lee is a genius as well. A genius of had work!"

Again, Lee crouched down and disappeared. This time, Neji was kicked from his right side, making him back flip on his hands to avoid from falling on the floor. The next attack came from once again in the front, though Neji was able to cross his arms in front of him to absorb most of the blow, though he still did slide backwards a couple feet while still standing up. The next attack though did connect. As if in slow motion, everyone watched in awe as Lee delivered a strong spin kick directly into Neji's chest, knocking him into the air and rolling on the ground to a halt.

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted while pumping his fist in the air, though he immediately quieted himself after he remembered his promise to keep quiet.

"It seems that Lee has gained the advantage," Shino said, speaking for the first time since the match had begun. "There's no way that anyone can keep up with that speed."

"Don't be so sure," Tenten suddenly spoke up once again.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, remembering her saying something to a similar extent at the beginning of the match.

"Well…" Tenten said, looking over at Gai hesitantly before sighing and turning fully toward Naruto. "Lee kind of has…well I guess you could call it a habit of occasionally breaking his own personal rules. Granted though, it only happens once in a blue moon. Believe it or not, this is not the first time Lee has taken off his weights to fight Neji. He's only done it before once and he punished himself so severely with training that he nearly killed himself, but he still did it. In the end though, he still wasn't able to beat Neji."

For a moment, everyone just remained quiet while they watched Neji calmly raise himself off the floor and wipe the small trickle of blood that had begun to run down the corner of his mouth from when he had hit the ground. Naruto then broke the silence with a half hearted laugh.

"Yeah, but now Lee's winning. I'm sure that he'll do loads better this time! Neji doesn't stand a chance." He made sure to pay special attention to not say this last part too loudly.

"Whatever you say," Tenten said before turning back to the match.

Now standing to his feet, Neji once again went into a defensive Jyuuken stance before closing his eyes briefly, though Naruto could not see the reason sense his Byakugan gives him the ability to see through his own eyelids. After he saw that Neji had fully regained his composure, Lee once again disappeared.

"Where'd he go?" Hinata asked, her purple eyes darting around the room for some sign of Lee.

For a couple moments, the room remained silent with still no sign of Lee. All the while Neji stood completely motionless in the center of the room, not shifting one inch out of his defensive stance. Suddenly, Neji spun on his heel and held out his arm…and suddenly Lee appeared in front of him, his leg stopped by Neji's arm. With a quick flip, Lee escaped from Neji and attacked once again with a flurry of quick kicks, but again Neji blocked each blow or turned them away before delivering one powerful Jyuuken strike into his right shoulder. Being knocked unbalanced, Lee quickly retreated backwards again, frowning at his opponent in frustration.

"He…he blocked Lee's kick," Sakura said in disbelief. "He blocked all of his blows. How'd he do that? Can he actually keep up with Lee with his Byakugan?"

"Not exactly," Gai said. "Between the doujutsus of the Uchiha and Hyuuga clan, the Byakugan falls short in the Sharingan's ability to trace their opponent and predict their next move. The problem is that Lee is a very straight forward fighter. He does not use any fancy tricks to attempt to throw off his opponent and doesn't even attempt to conceal his attacks. Though Neji cannot essentially follow Lee's movements, he can still track his blurred movements and retaliate in the direction he last sees Lee. Of everyone in this room, the two who know Lee's fighting style the best are me and Neji. Neji does not need a jutsu to predict Lee's next move. He can do it in his own head."

"Well, I'm glad that I didn't get stuck with him to fight," Shikamaru said with a nervous gulp.

"…Indeed," Shino agreed.

Everyone watched in surprise as Neji finally left his spot and charged at Lee, his hands glowing blue with Jyuuken. Unlike Neji before him though, Lee did not wait for Neji. Instead, he charged right at him, though with much greater speed. Neji's open palm and Lee's fist connected to each other and a large shockwave of chakra pulsated through the room, leaving everyone shocked at its force. Naruto saw out of the corner of his eye the Sandaime's red hat fly off of his head for the third time in the last few matches.

Neither his nor anyone else's eyes left Lee or Neji for a moment though. Their movements had become nothing more than a blur of white, light blue, and green. Though Lee would occasionally disappear for a couple seconds, he would reappear once again a moment later with another attack which Neji would counter.

Suddenly, Lee leaned backwards with surprising flexibility, dodging Neji's palm thrust. Apparently, Neji was not expecting this, for his Byakugan enhanced eyes suddenly widened as Lee maneuvered around him and delivered a hard kick into his back.

"Direct hit," Asuma said approvingly.

Seeing his opportunity, Lee once again charged after Neji. The Hyuuga heir though had already stood back to his feet, but Lee was already once again in the air for another powerful kick, moving much to quickly for Neji to put up his arms to defend himself.

"This is it! Konoha Daisenpu!" Lee yelled, spinning in a three sixty with his leg out stretched.

"Hakkeshou Kaiten!" Neji yelled at the same moment. In a flash, Neji had become a whirling vortex of blue, his own body becoming nothing more than a blur of motion. As soon as Lee's kick collided with the technique, he let out a yell as he was thrown backwards and skidded a few yards backwards before coming to a halt, his face flat on the floor.

"Whoa," Shikamaru said, his head slightly cocked to the side in shock.

Naruto couldn't help but feel just as astounded as his teammate was. He had been shown the Hyuuga's defense technique on more than one occasion during his lessons with both Hizashi and Neji, but he had never seen it used in battle or the effects that it took on the one on the wrong side of it. He watched solemnly as Neji slowed to a stop and stood up straight once more, watching quietly as Lee slowly rose once again to his feet. After performing his ultimate defense, Neji appeared to be even more unstoppable than before.

"Do you now see how useless this fight is, Lee?" Neji asked. "You cannot defeat me. There is too large of gap between our two abilities."

Lee shakily stood back to his feet once more and again bent down into his fighting stance. "I will not going to give up so easily. I already told you, Neji. I am not going to lose this match!"

Lee suddenly looked up into the balcony, looking at his sensei from high on the stands. Naruto turned to the green clad Jonin along with everyone else on the second level. Gai seemed to be hesitating about something, his eyes full of worry at Lee's determined and earnest stare. After a couple more moments, Gai nodded at Lee and his student nodded back in thanks.

Turning his oddly shaped eyes to his hands, Lee slowly began to unravel the bandages around his arms and fists, unwrapping each of them so far that both bandages dropped all the way to the ground.

"What the-!" Tenten gasped, staring first at Lee and then to her sensei. "You're not actually going to let Lee use that jutsu on Neji, are you?"

"…I gave both of them full permission to use any and all techniques they posses in this match. For Lee, that includes the Omote Renge-"

"Omote Renge!" Asuma and Kurenai shouted at the same time, staring at Gai with open mouths and shocked stares.

Naruto looked at both Shikamaru and Hinata questioningly, though he found that they shared the same dumbfounded expressions that he was wearing. Even Shino looked up at Gai with one of his eyebrows raised in question.

"You're telling me that this kid can actually open a Hidden Gate?" Kurenai asked. Even Naruto found it slightly unnerving of how unyielding her disapproving glare was.

"Of course not," Gai said, responding back to Kurenai's punishing stare with a pearly white smile. "Lee is able to open not one, but _five_ of the Hidden Gates!"

"What?!" Asuma yelled, not noticing his cigarette falling from his mouth to the floor from shock.

"Hey, you guys mind filling us in what you're talking about?" Naruto asked, finally being fed up of being outside of the loop. "What's all this talk about 'gates'?"

"You all know of the chakra system that resides in every human's body, correct?" Gai said, looking down at the students. All of them nodded in response. "Well, the chakra that is sent through the system originates from those gates and they regulate the amount of chakra the body receives. By fully opening a gate, you are granted with a tremendous boost of power. By opening all eight of the gates, one is able to surpass even the Hokage in battle."

"You're kidding me," Naruto said, turning back to Lee in astonishment. "Lee is actually that powerful?"

"Unfortunately, Gai has conveniently left out the effects of opening all eight of the gates," Kurenai said sternly.

"…What happens?" Hinata asked nervously.

For a brief moment, Gai remained silent without looking at any who were staring at him. "…They die," he finally said, closing his eyes.

Neji stood perfectly still, one hand outstretched in front of him with the other bent to his side in a defensive stance. He knew fully well what was coming. After all, he and Tenten had also gone through the same training as Lee that Gai put them through to see if any of them were able to perform the technique. Though it is true that he…lacked certain abilities to perform it, he none the less learned much from his sensei of the forbidden ability, including ways to defend against it. The key to the attack were Lee's bandages. They reacted to Lee's chakra and he could control them at will, requiring no skill in ninjutsu whatsoever to use. With his Byakugan, Neji could already see Lee's chakra begin to flow down the bandages, making them stronger. That would be the key to defeating his technique...

Once again, Lee sprang forward, though he did not make his way directly to Neji though. The Hyuuga didn't even move an inch as a small typhoon of wind began to swirl around him due to Lee's speed as he began to encircle him. In fact, he did not even attempt to follow Lee's movements. He knew perfectly well that the Konoha Kage Buyou, a swift upper kick to the chin, was needed to perform the Lotus and it would surely come from the front. All he had to do was direct all of his attention in front of him to defend himself…

A surprised grunt escaped Neji's lips as he was kicked surprisingly from the rear, forcing him to spin on his heels to regain his balance and stop skidding. Before he could even stop though, Lee's foot suddenly connected with his chin and he was suddenly flying upwards in the air.

"You are mistaken if you believe that I am not aware of how well you know my technique," Lee's voice suddenly said from behind him as he continued to fly toward the ceiling. "It would be foolish to perform it just as I always have against you." Just as Neji was about to swing his arm around to attack Lee, the bandages that had been dangling in the air suddenly snapped to life and wrapped around his body and his arms, completely immobilizing him.

"He got him!" Naruto yelled, though everyone else merely continued to watch in silence.

"This is it, Neji!" Lee yelled, already beginning to rotate both him and Neji while still in the air and opening the Gate of Opening. "Get ready! Omete Ren-"

Naruto suddenly caught his breath as Lee let out a painful yell and the bandages around his arms snapped into ribbons. Now free, Neji spun himself around so that he was above his opponent during the fall and delivered five consecutive strikes to Lee's major chakra points. When Lee finally reached the ground, his back arched in pain as his body connected with the hard stone floor just as Neji nimbly landed on the ground himself, only a few yards from where Lee had landed.

"But…how?" Lee asked as he struggled to raise himself from the ground.

"It is simple, really," Neji said calmly. "I merely used the same principle that the Hakkeshou Kaiten is based off of. I just let out a precise amount of chakra at certain parts of my body to cut the bandages that were restricting me. Since the bandages are controled with chakra, all I had to do was sever those chakra flows and the bandages would tear like paper, as well as doing damage to your body as well. That technique may work on others in this room, but it will not work on me."

Lee let out an angry grunt before pulling off his torn bandages around his arms and reaching back to his weapons pouch behind him. He swiftly pulled out an extra roll of bandages before rewrapping his arms once again, all the while trying to formulate another plan to fully execute the Omote Renge. Perhaps if he just tried a different approach, or maybe perform the move a little bit faster…

"It's not going to work, Lee," Neji said, as if reading his thoughts as he continued to watch Lee put on his bandages. "How long are you going to fight this useless battle?"

Lee didn't respond. Instead, he rose once again to his feet, though he wobbled weakly as he stood all the way up, much to his surprise. Though he had not been able to fully and successfully complete the technique, he was still feeling the aftershocks that came with it. Not to mention the effects from Neji's Jyuuken strikes were taking a toll on his body as well. It was all he could do now to just remain standing.

"This has gone on long enough," Neji spoke up, dropping down low with both of his arms stretched out fully, one downward in front of him and the other pointed diagonally upwards behind him.

"Lee! Run!" Naruto suddenly yelled, immediately recognizing the stance and not caring in the least anymore about how Lee had requested him to be silent.

Naruto was not the only one to recognize the stance. With his eyes widening even more than usual, Lee tried to take a step, but pain suddenly shot through his body, refusing to allow himself to move at all after being put under so much stress only moments ago.

"Hakke Rokujuuyonshou!" Neji shouted, leaping forward.

Naruto watched in horror as Lee's chakra points were struck perfectly by two quick strikes. Then he was hit by four, and then eight. Next came sixteen…thirty two. Neji's last series of strikes came at such speed that his arms seemed to become nothing more than silver blurs. Naruto could not even begin to guess at what time Lee was hit by the first of the sixty four strikes Neji struck him with. When it was over though, Lee once again let out a cry of pain as he flew backwards and slid to a halt on the ground. When the technique was complete, Neji let out a deep breath and dropped once again into his normal fighting stance.

"Amazing," Kurenai said suddenly. "To perform such a high ability technique at such a young age, it's no wonder why everyone calls him a genius. This kid is more than ready to make Chunin."

Though Naruto knew that the scarlet eyed Jonin was merely remarking on Neji's skills, he still could not help but feel angry at her for complementing him. Hadn't she heard any of the crap that Neji had been saying to Lee since the beginning of the match?

With sad eyes, Naruto looked down at Lee as he struggled even more than before to merely rise to his feet. He had to admit, Lee had determination. After all he had been through this fight, he just kept coming back for more, never giving up. But even with all of his hard work…he still came up short.

"This has gone long enough," Neji said finally, walking toward Lee with his hands already glowing blue without even his Byakugan activated. He continued to walk forward until he was directly above Lee, who was still attempting to rise once again to his feet to fight anew.

"I will not…lose this match!" Lee yelled. Though his voice was still strong enough to fill the room, it was apparent that he was pretty much finished. "I cannot lose yet. I haven't shone everyone that hard work can be just as good as being born talented. I haven't proven my ninja way yet!"

"When will you finally see the truth, Lee?" Neji asked, slowly raising his arm for one last strike. "When will you learn that your ninja way is false?"

Pulling his hand back one last time, Neji thrust his hand forward directly at Lee's head, intent on a knockout blow. His eyes suddenly widened in shock as his open palm struck the stone floor, almost as if Lee hadn't ever been there at all.

"How-?" Whatever Neji was going to say next was lost as a hard punch collided into his face, sending him spiraling backwards through the air. With a painful plop on the ground, he skidded to a halt.

After his head stopped swirling, he shakily leaned himself forward while still sitting on the ground, wiping the small trickle of blood that had begun to run down his mouth. Looking back to the place he had once stood only a moment ago, Lee had once again reappeared in his former spot, breathing deeply and looking exhausted, but also standing tall and steady.

One of Neji's eyebrows raised slightly as Lee's eyes went to the balcony above him, looking right at his sensei for the second time this match. For a moment, the two merely continued to stare back at each other. Finally, Gai gave another reluctant nod to Lee.

Lee's face suddenly brightened before turning back to Neji once again. "Neji, I must thank you for saying those words," Lee said, returning to his fighting position again. "By insulting my ninja way, you have given me the chance to fight to my total potential.

Neji stood up once again and for the first time for the entire match looked at Lee in anger. "What do you mean? You've got nothing left. There's no way that you can continue to fight in the state you are in."

"We shall see, Neji," Lee replied, bending his knees and crossing his arms in front of him.

A breeze seemed to suddenly surround Lee, lifting his black hair into the air and causing his jumpsuit to ripple in the wind. Just as Neji began wondering what Lee was planning, he suddenly crossed his arms out in front of him as an even more powerful gust of wind pulsated out from where Lee was standing, making him stagger backwards. Where had Lee gotten this much chakra to do this?!

With two quick hand seals, Neji once again activated his Byakugan and looked into Lee's chakra system. His eyes widened even more in shock as he watched Lee's previously blocked chakra points become forcibly reopened, sending a staggering amount of chakra throughout his entire body.

"Impossible!" Neji yelled as even more wind filled the stadium. "How are you able to reopen your chakra points? How are you even able to keep on fighting?!"

"Now, Neji," Lee said, his arms now covering his face from view, "I will show you the true power of hard work. I'll show you just how right my ninja way truly is!" he yelled, dropping both of his hands to his sides and revealing his now pupiless eyes and red skin. Neji took in a sharp breath, taking in what Lee had become and subconsciously took a step back.

The next thing he knew, a fist caught him below the chin and he was once again flying in the air. He opened his eyes while still airborne just before Lee reappeared once again in front of him and kicked him twice in the stomach, sending him spiraling off to another side of the room.

The Hyuuga cursed to himself just before being hit by another of Lee's attacks. How could this be? He could not even catch a glance of Lee until he was too close to counter, even with his Byakugan activated. Even if he could see him though, he doubted he would even be able to react fast enough to block his attack and retaliate. He was just too fast! Was this really Lee? Was he actually this powerful?

Was this the power of hard work…?

He let out another grunt just after Lee downward kicked him once again and he began falling toward the floor. He was shocked to find though that he jerked suddenly to a stop, halted by some force. Looking up once again, he saw the new bandages that Lee had rewrapped around his arms tie around his waist with Lee holding onto it with his one free hand.

"This is it!" Lee shouted to Neji. "I have been saving this move especially for you. There is absolutely no way to defend against it! This shall be the final blow for this match. Now prepare yourself Neji, I will now show you the true power of hard work!"

With a yell, Lee pulled on the bandage attached to Neji's waist and pulled him up toward him. With wide eyes, Neji realized that at the speed he was racing toward Lee, there would be no way that he would be able to recover from this attack. He had to do something! There had to be something…the bandage!

Lifting his hand and gripping the bandage around his waist, Neji sent the last of his chakra up it and toward Lee. For a split second, Neji saw his teammate close his eyes in pain. Then, his eyes reopened once again and pulled harder on the bandage that was tied to Neji.

"U-Ura Renge!" Lee yelled with his face contorted in pain. Neji could do nothing but watch Lee pull back his free right arm and his right leg and thrust them into his abdomen, making Neji cough up even more blood than ever. When the blow connected, he could literally hear his bones breaking from the sheer force of the attack. His pain went to a new high point when he struck the ground face first and let out a shout in anguish to the floor that echoed throughout the room.

After another moment, he finally became quiet and lay still for a couple seconds with his eyes closed and struggling to breathe. Lee's attack had turned out to be more devastating than he had ever dreamt of him being capable of. He was only lucky that he had thought fast enough to send some of his Jyuuken energy up the bandage to weaken Lee's attack. If he hadn't, he had little doubt that he would be unconscious right now. In fact, he would have been lucky if all that would have happened to him was lose consciousness.

Opening his eyes once more, he finally was able to realize just how injured he was. With every breath that he took it felt like another kunai being stabbed deeper and deeper into his chest. Though he could not find the strength to move his body, he was fully aware of every area that had become injured from Lee's attack. It was obvious that even attempting to stand to his feet would be a futile effort.

With a grunt, Neji turned his head to see Lee. Not more than a couple yards away, Lee also lay motionless on the ground with his eyes closed and his breath very soft, completely unconscious. So…it had turned out that his trump card had become his one downfall.

"…Well since-" Hayate began to say, but stopped as his eyes widened shock, looking at Lee.

Neji wore a similar expression on his face as well. There across from him, Lee had stood to his feet, his right hand outstretched in front of him just as he always would do before his fights.

"He got up!" Naruto cried out happily. "He did it!"

"…Look again, Naruto," Shino said suddenly. Naruto looked into the bug user's hazel eyes in confusion but his smile did not once drop from his face. He then turned back to the bottom level and his smile suddenly vanished.

"I can't believe it," Tenten said beside him, her mouth dropped open from what she was witnessing. "Lee…even when he's unconscious, he still gets back up to fight…that hard headed idiot…"

Neji continued to stare at Lee in amazement, finally able to see Lee's glazed over eyes staring at him. With a painful groan, he channeled the last of his chakra to his eyes and activated his Byakugan…what he saw shocked him even further. Lee's body, both internally and externally, was completely destroyed. Nearly every single muscle seemed to have either been overexerted or torn, and his internal organs were extremely damaged due to Neji's last desperate attempt to stop the attack. Neji could tell that of the two, Lee's wounds were far more serious than his own, yet he was still able to stand to his feet even while being unconscious. But here he was, face down on the floor but still conscious. Neji could not help but wonder which of the two was actually better…

"…Since both combatants are unable to continue the match," Hayate said, raising his arms in both directions, "the match will end in a draw. Neither of the combatants will advance to the next round."

The stunned silence that filled the room had become deafening. Even ones such as Ibiki, who rarely showed any sort of emotion at all, had become dumbstruck at the scene that they had just witnessed. After such a long and arduous fight, neither of the two combatants had advanced?

"I can't believe it," Tenten said, leaning backwards on the wall behind her and bringing her right hand up to her forehead. "Neji actually…didn't win."

"Yeah…but neither did Lee," Shikamaru said sullenly. "He had vowed that he would win the match…"

"Actually," Gai said, interrupting the group, "he had vowed to not lose the match, which he didn't." Everyone looked over at Gai for the first time since the match had ended and saw, much to all of their surprise, that he was actually _smiling_.

"Gai, aren't you disappointed that neither of your students are moving on to the next round?" Asuma asked.

"Disappointed?" Gai said, looking over at Asuma in surprise. "I couldn't ask for a better outcome of the match!" For a moment, everyone remained silent, each of them surprised by Gai's remark.

"What are you talking about, Gai-sensei?" Tenten asked, looking at her sensei in absolute bewilderment.

"You see, if Neji would have won, he would have learned nothing of how much Lee's hard work has paid off and Lee would have probably wallowed in grief that he had lost for a month at least. On the other hand if Lee had won, Neji would only show more resentment to Lee than before for making a fool out of him and Lee in turn would probably slack off, thinking that he no longer needs to work as hard now that he had reached his goal. No, this outcome will surely push both of them to be even greater shinobi in an attempt to become stronger than the other. A little healthy competition is always a good thing. That is why it is so great to have a rival. Though they may treat each other sometimes with distain, I hope that the two's competition with form a bond that will strengthen through each competition the two will go through. Together.

Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto could have sworn that Ino and Sakura glanced over at the other, but at the moment their eyes met they both quickly diverted their gaze to the floor.

Asuma let out a small chuckle and smile toward his fellow Jonin. "I think I see what you mean. You must know all about that with your rivalry with Kakashi."

At first, Gai gave a content nod to Asuma. Suddenly though, his eyes grew wide and he let out an agonizing cry as he gripped his bowl cut hair with both hands.

"Gai, are you alright?!" Kurenai asked with her crimson eyes full of worry.

"It's…it's horrible…" Gai said as his voice shook, shutting his eyes tight and gripping his hair even tighter. Suddenly, he outstretched both arms to the side, unknowingly nearly nailing Kiba in the side of the head, and yelled at the top of his lungs, "Kakashi had been away for the entire match! I finally had the chance to show him just how great of a sensei I was compared to him and he missed the whole entire thing!"

"I should have known," Kurenai said, shaking her head critically. Asuma just laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head.

On the main level, Neji did not hear a word of Gai's ranting. He didn't even pay attention to the medic nins that had rushed out to heal some of his more serious wounds. His blank eyes were still locked on Lee, watching as a pair of medic nins, in comparison to his three, tend to him. They had been able to lay Lee's body back on the floor to put less strain on the muscles than they already were. He saw his sensei suddenly appear between the two, but paid no attention as Gai made his way toward his precious student to check up on him. Though he could hear the two medic nins listing off to Gai one serious injury after another, it seemed that they still expected Lee to make a full recovery in perhaps a month or more. Something about having that knowledge made his body ache slightly less than before.

"I see that I have failed you in your teachings, Neji."

Slowly, Neji turned his eyes away from Lee and up to his father, who stood above him…with sad eyes? Not anger due to his failure? Not disappointment that his son had not won his match against a Genin who not only did not originate from a major shinobi clan, but one that could not use either Genjutsu or Ninjutsu?

"Tell me, my son, what caused you to obtain all of these ideals of yours about destiny?" Hizashi asked while taking a knee. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the three medic nins around him and they instead headed to Lee, who's wounds were still being tended to.

"…It is the hand that guides the Hyuuga clan. The fate of which of us would lead and which would follow, who will be placed the main branch and who in the side branch. It is something that no one can escape and are bound to no matter how hard they wish to alter it," Neji spoke, though each word now felt foreign and hallow in comparison to how sure he had sounded minutes ago while fighting Lee.

"I see," Hizashi said, contemplating his son's words with closed eyes. He soon reopened them though, staring down once again at Neji. "Listen to your father's words, Neji. Destiny is not something that is chosen for us at the date of our birth. Our future is not forged by the hands of fate but by our very own. You see Neji, each and every single day hundreds of different paths are opened up to us. Though it is true that many of them have the same destination, what you carry on to that point will never be the same. For instance, one may decide to take the road that will result in one becoming a missing nin, while another may even turn the same one onto the path to becoming Hokage."

After hearing this statement, Neji's eyes for the first time since the beginning of the match looked back up to the balcony and at the newest member of their clan. Naruto continued to stare down at both he and his father with an expression of mixed emotions which Neji could easily pick out. Anger, disappointment, happiness, hope…

"You must know Neji that there is more to seeing than what your Byakugan can reveal to you," Hizashi continued as he stood to his feet once again and watched his son be loaded onto his stretcher as the medic nins returned to aid him. "It is a kind of sight that cannot be taught, only learned. If you truly want to become the great leader of the Hyuuga that you aspire to be, you must now learn to also see into a person's soul."

With that said, Neji felt the stretcher underneath him be raised up by the two medic nins and began their way to the exit, though he was too lost in thought to pay attention to his surroundings anymore. Had his past ideals really as false as they seem now? Had he really been deceiving himself this entire time to the truth? As everything around him began to blur and grow dim due to exhaustion, he realized that now was not the time to contemplate such things. Not yet. For now, it was time for him to rest. With one last cleansing breath, he finally allowed himself to slip into unconsciousness, though a trace of a smile was still visible at the corner of his lips.

Tenten leaned forward on the railing in front of her and gripped the bar, watching both of her teammates being carried out on their stretchers. Though it may have something to do with the temporary state of shock she was currently in, she was not too sure how she felt about the outcome of the match. The one thing she did know was that she was relieved that neither of her teammates had received permanent injuries in their heated battle. But how did she feel about the two of them tying? Was she sad that Lee hadn't won the fight? She had to admit that the Hyuuga member of their squad had needed a serious attitude adjustment in her team, but she would never wish ill will against him.

The weapon's mistress sighed to herself before resting her elbow on the railing and placing her chin in her hand. Was it a good thing that both of them had not gone on to the next match? Now that she thought about it, would everyone's expectations about her be even higher after watching both of her teammates battle at such a high level? Of the three of them, Tenten knew that she was perhaps the least worthy to move on to the actual exam…

She was suddenly propelled out of her thoughts as she felt a strong hand grip her shoulder unexpectedly. Turning her head, she saw her sensei had returned to the balcony and was looking down at her now with a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry about those two, they are much too stubborn to remain injured for long," he spoke without dropping his warm smile to the girl. "And besides, you are the only one left to represent our team for the Chunin Exams. You need to make sure that your head is clear and that you are focused on your match. Lee and Neji are not my only students that I consider geniuses."

A moment passed in silence as Tenten continued to stare up in shock at her Jonin sensei. This was no doubt a new experience for her. Most of the time Gai would just pay attention most of the time to Lee and Lee alone while only giving Neji and her a quick pointer of how to improve what they were trying to work on. Now that she thought about it, even Neji usually got more attention than she usually did. But now, Gai was not only encouraging her but commending her on her abilities. A large load seemed to suddenly be lifted off of her shoulders as she stood up slightly more erect than before. It felt good to be noticed…

A small smile finally crossed her lips as she continued to look up at her sensei. "Yes sir!" she said in a good Lee impersonation, making Gai's smile only widened even more.

A loud poof suddenly sounded and Kakashi popped out behind everyone and gave everyone around him a friendly wave. "How's it going everyone? Miss me?" His single visible eye though looked past everyone and down at the ravaged stone floor on the main level. "Hmm, did I miss something?"

"Where were you?!" Gai suddenly yelled, spinning on his heels and pointing at the Sharingan user. "You weren't here to witness the blossoming youth of both of my students! I can't believe that you are so inconsiderate to do such a thing, Kakashi!"

"Well, sorry about that," his rival replied with a nervous laugh, "but I got…caught up."

He was actually relieved that Gai seemed to be too distraught about his absence to actually pay attention to his physical condition. He just being around the Snake Sanin for merely a couple of seconds seemed to have drained him to the point of exhaustion. Though he was had been lucky that Orochimaru had decided to run off instead of engaging in battle, it still left Kakashi shaken from his temporary appearance. He would make sure to definitely tell Asuma of the meet, but there didn't seem to be any rush at the moment by the sound of Orochimaru's words.

At least now things seemed to have finally slowed down slightly. Though he knew fully well that Orochimaru seemed not at all finished with his plans pertaining to Konoha at the moment, it seemed that he could finally be rest assured that everything was now back in order and safety had returned. Too bad Kakashi had a strong notion that the feeling was going to be only temporary.

"Hey," Naruto said, looking around the balcony. "Anyone see where Kabuto has gone?"

* * *

_And there we have it. I know that many will probably not be happy with the outcome of this match (since Lee was needless to say a definite favorite to win the match) but this is what I believe to be the best turn out to the fight. This chapter was actually entirely for Neji, since this will be his turning point in the story. We'll just have to see how he turns out._

_Well, once again readers I thank you for reading my fic. Please review, you know you want to... Anyways, I am still accepting any ideas on jutsus if any are still interested. Until then everyone, I'll see you next chapter!_

_GAZ_


	22. Fights of the Heart

_Yes, yes, I know. Why the long update blah blah blah. Why wasn't this out sooner? Blah blah…blah. All I can do is apologize to you guys. The last chapter really wore me out when it came down to trying to think of good ideas and making it as good as I wished it to be. I've been planning that match practically ever since I started this fic XD. I blame Kabuto for the long update…because it's always Kabuto's fault. Anyways, let's just get on with the chapter._

_I don't own Naruto…yeah._

* * *

The young woman took one last deep breath, preparing herself to walk around the corner. She was garbed in the regulation nurse's white outfit and her chestnut hair was tied back into a bun. She was twenty eight years old, although many mistook her to be much younger than she actually was, a trait she was quite proud of. One thing she did not have pride in though was her squeamish attitude when it came to some of her own patients, or rather in this case, those who were guarding one of her patients.

Hesitating only one last time, she walked around the corner and began approaching the dark robbed and masked figure who stood guard in front of one of the many doors in the hallway. Though she did work as a nurse in the hospital, she was one of the few non-shinobi members of the staff. Admittedly, she was mostly there for her knowledge in medicine and that alone. Because she did not have any ability in healing ninjutsu whatsoever, she was usually assigned to the recovery wing, usually appeasing the elderly who had gotten hurt someway or another.

This day was different though. She had been assigned one of the most important duties of the hospital: attending to an injured shinobi and making sure that he was well taken care of. Even though said injured shinobi was only a child and seemed to be well onto a full recovery, she couldn't help but feel a sense of pride for being trusted with such an important task. But there was one thing that almost made her want to give her assigned patient to someone else, and that was the four ANBU who had been assigned to keep guard over the Genin.

The woman stiffened slightly when the robbed figure turned his concealed face toward her, watching her approach. He was wearing what she could only guess to be a cat mask over his face, though it was hard to tell with the hood that was over his head from the long, dark cloak he was wearing as well. "I was wondering when you would decide to show yourself," the man said in a kind and joking manner. "You were standing back there for nearly two minutes."

The burnet nurse blushed and smiled nervously at the special guard. This was only another reason why these guys creeped her out so much. She had no problem with any of the non-ANBU shinobi of the village. Heck, her fiancé was a Chunin preparing for the Jonin exams. But these guys always made her edgy. Like how they always seemed to know what was going on, what you are thinking, and what you are about to do next. It made her feel as though her privacy was constantly being invaded. The creepy masks they wore did nothing to hinder the effect on her either. She knew that they, just as her uniform was, a regulation accessory that they were forced to wear to hide their identity. But couldn't they make their masks a little more…happy looking?

"Um…forgive me, ANBU-san," the woman said, bowing politely at the dark robbed man. "I…uh…I'm here to check up on Uchiha Sasuke…"

"Oh, you must be Kaori," the man said, not dropping his friendly tone. "We've heard a lot about you from the doctor. He says that you are quiet skilled in medicine."

"…Yes," the woman said, trying her best not to drop her smile at all. For some reason, she was getting more of the creeps from this guy than usual. She couldn't understand why this was, since he was acting so kind to her. There was just something that she could not place about him. "Um, may I go in?" she asked, trying to ignore this disturbing reaction she was having to the man.

"Oh, yes of course," the ANBU said, stepping aside to open the door for her and chuckling embarrassedly. "Please, go right on in."

"Thank you."

As soon as she walked through the doorway, the three other ANBU members in the room turned their head toward her simultaneously. As if she couldn't become more uncomfortable. She suddenly stiffened when she felt a hand land on her shoulder though. She looked over and saw the ANBU that had escorted her in looking down at her. She guessed that underneath his mask he was smiling comfortingly at her. Even if he was though, it didn't make her feel any less awkward.

"It's okay, guys," the dark garbed ANBU said to his associates. "She's clear. This is Kaori-san, the nurse that has been assigned to Sasuke-kun."

The other ANBU did not respond, though their shoulders did lower a tad bit and one of them sat down once again on the stool he had been resting on. Kaori let out a breath she had not realized she'd been holding.

With a small nod to each of the elite shinobi in turn, she crossed the room to examine her patient. To anyone who may just be entering the room without proper knowledge, it might have appeared that her patient was in critical condition with all of the monitors and high tech equipment surrounding him. She could tell though with one quick glance at each of them though that the boy seemed to only be sleeping now.

"Heart rate is normal," she muttered to herself as she began scribbling on her clipboard. "Breathing is as well…though his chakra readings seem to be slightly stressed…"

"That's normal."

The nurse turned around, seeing the same man who had escorted her in standing close behind her. "Usually after a battle or mission, a shinobi's chakra system is stressed from constant usage. This kid has just gotten done with the Chunin exam, so a little stressed chakra would be normal. It should go down once more as time goes by."

"I'll…remember that for the future," she said gratefully and scribbling down this last bit of information. "Well, it seems to me that all he needs is a little more rest. I'll be back in a couple more hours to check on his condition."

"I'll be sure to notify you if anything goes wrong."

Kaori returned a small smile and nod as she began her way to the door with her escort right behind her.

"I guess I'll see you later," she said kindly.

"Let us hope," the man said back with a friendly nod.

With their farewells said, the woman turned around and made her way back down the hallway before turning the corner again.

The entire time she walked down the hallway, the ANBU who had been guarding the door watched her every step, making sure that she was gone. After a few more moments, the cloaked shinobi looked left and right down the hallway and carefully made a hand sign underneath his cloak. With a small poof, a bushin appeared next to him with its arms crossed in front of him.

With his clone in place, the man opened the door behind him and stepped in. Inside the room, the three ANBU agents who had been watching over Sasuke just moments ago had all dropped to the ground, completely motionless.

"Shikon no Jutsu…always comes in handy," the man said as he threw back his black hood, revealing his long, silver hair. Next he pulled off his mask and reached down into his inside pocket, pulling back out his glasses and wiping them with his cloak before replacing them upon his face.

"Uchiha Sasuke-kun," Kabuto said, approaching the bed and examining the raven haired youth. He was one of three of the new candidates for Orochimaru-sama's future vessel. After watching his match in the exam as well as his bout with his master, he had little reason to wonder of Orochimaru's new interest in him. Not to mention the other two candidates….

_Flashback_

"_You're uncharacteristically late, Kabuto."_

_The silver haired Oto nin silently appeared behind the Snake Sanin and immediately knelt down into a respectful bow._

"_My apologies, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said, rising once again to his feet. "I'm afraid that I'm just not as adept in stealth as you are. It took me a little more time to escape from the exam after you."_

_Orochimaru turned around to face Kabuto and leaned back against the red support beam behind him, examining him. "Of course," he said smoothly. Kabuto could tell by the look on his face that he did not seem thoroughly convinced by this excuse, but it seemed that he was going to allow it to slide just this once. "Besides, your delay gave me time to attend to some other business."_

"_Why didn't you stay and watch the other two's matches?" Kabuto asked, taking a place beside his master. "Would you have done the same if either of the other two had fought before him?"_

_Orochimaru shrugged at Kabuto's question. "Over excitement I suppose. After witnessing Sasuke-kun's match, I couldn't help myself but seeing him again. Unsurprisingly though, he was under guard. It's no matter though. He'll seek me out soon enough."_

"_He did well," the medic nin said suddenly. "Even with the seal hindering his ability to fight at his full capability, he was still able to overcome its effects and not only do well, but even win the match. He was even able to pull off a katon jutsu as well. Though it may have something to do with how familiar he was with the technique."_

_For the first time since their conversation had begun, Orochimaru did not respond back. Kabuto almost smiled, though he managed to keep it hidden from his master. One of the seal's jobs was to cause the one who was branded by it trouble with techniques and using chakra. It was only one of Orochimaru's devious ways of manipulation to bring people to his side. Only when the one who wears the mark openly embraces the seal's infulence does its true power come to light. By that time, the one with the mark would usually be convinced that whatever Orochimaru had told him or her had been true and would seek him out. Like ignorant fish that had just gotten a nibble of a tasty worm, not noticing the hook that its meal hid._

"_So what do you think of the other two?" Kabuto asked._

_This question did bring a smile to Orochimaru's lips, as if this was a subject he had been dying to talk about for days. "The Aburame seems strong…"_

"_His name is Shino," Kabuto informed respectfully. "Son of the current head of the Aburame clan, Aburame Shibi. His scores in the academy was second only to Sasuke, though there was always at least some debate among the teachers on which of the two were truly the strongest."_

"_As informed as ever, Kabuto" Orochimaru said, locking eyes with his subordinate. "I can always count on you for doing your homework. He's a powerful fighter, no doubt about it. And he has a pretty bright mind at that. In fact, he may be smarter than Sasuke-kun for that matter. A superb strategist. He seems to lack the natural speed that Sasuke-kun seems to possess though."_

"_And Naruto?" Kabuto asked. He had finally reached the question that _he_ had been dying to ask Orochimaru for so long. Once again, Orochimaru fell silent and he shut his eyes, seeming to contemplate very hard on his answer._

"…_He is not a strategist in battle such as the other two are. Not nearly as fast as Sasuke-kun and cannot measure up to his level of taijutsu as well. However…his skills in ninjutsu surpass even the abilities of the Sound Four when they were his age. His will to survive and protect those who are precious to him is astounding. Not to mention he possesses near unlimited amount of chakra at his disposal in addition to an inhuman amount of endurance."_

"_That last part was taking into account of the Kyuubi, correct?"_

_Orochimaru just nodded in response, though his golden eyes seemed unusually far off in thought. Kabuto continued to stare at him with calculating eyes. Perhaps Orochimaru was beginning to reconsider his decision of giving Naruto the mark. If he somehow was able to master its power along with the Kyuubi's at the same time, there was no telling how powerful he may become…_

"_So where do we go from here?" Kabuto asked, breaking the silence._

"…_I suppose that we continue on with more pressing matters now and let the three of them continue on with this exam. With luck, I may be able to find out who is truly the strongest of the three of them."_

"…_And who do you suspect that would be?" Kabuto asked, trying his best not to sound too interested. He was now crossing into dangerous territory…_

"_Hmm…in overall ability…?" Orochimaru said thoughtfully, looking out at the village before him. "I'd have to guess Sasuke-kun. He also has a burning desire to gain more power, which will surely draw him closer and closer to me as the seal continues to take affect."_

"_I see," Kabuto said, pulling out a stack of papers from within the inside pocket of his shirt. Anymore questions now could be dangerous. "Here is the currently military status of Sunagakure that you asked me about. I apologize for taking so long, but I wasn't able to get a chance to give it to you before. There is also some information in there about the three if you feel obligated to familiarize yourself with them. If there is nothing else then, I suppose that I should be on my way. You should be as well. The shinobi of Suna may begin to wonder where their Kazekage is…" With that said, Kabuto took a step back and began to walk away in the opposite direction of Orochimaru._

"_Kabuto," Orochimaru said, causing the silver haired medic nin to freeze while in mid step. He did not turn around though. He merely continued to look in the direction he had been walking in and waited for the Sanin behind him to continue. "If you wish to stop me…then you would have to kill all three of them."_

_For a brief moment, Kabuto felt his heart stop cold in fear. A small bead of sweat traveled down his brow as he slowly looked over his shoulder at the powerful man behind him. The two men's eyes locked onto each other, both of them searching for any thoughts or emotion that the other had._

_Finally, a small smile crept over Orochimaru's pale face. "Just joking," he said, chuckling softly as if he had just told a hilarious joke. "I trust you enough. You can be on your way for whatever shady reason you have."_

"…_Yes, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said shakily before jumping off onto the rooftops of Konohagakure, intent on putting as much distance between him and his master as he could. _

_End Flashback_

Kabuto continued to stare down at Sasuke as he ran through his meeting with Orochimaru again in his mind. Just thinking about it made his heart race in alarm. Kabuto was not a stupid shinobi by any means. He knew exactly what kind of situation he was currently in.

As of now, he was considered by all the nations of the world as a hopeless Genin that can't seem to catch a break in the Chunin exam. But if anyone were to know who he worked for or how strong he truly was, it would be an automatic jump to B Class or perhaps even A Class missing nin. But keeping a low profile was the least of his problems. He knew all too well of Orochimaru's habit of disposing subordinates he no longer finds useful. His quick temper had killed more than a few of even his most powerful minions.

But now was not the time for brooding. He was there for a purpose and the sooner it was done, the better. The last nurse may have not noticed that the on guard ANBU were not breathing and had small blood splotches on their uniforms, but that didn't mean that another doctor wouldn't. If it was a medic nin, Kabuto would be as good as dead. He had to work fast if he wanted any chance of escaping.

Taking out both of his hands from beneath his black cloak, the silver haired medic nin quickly began going through several complicated hand seals. When finished, his right hand began to glow a mysterious shade of dark green as he outstretched his arm so it hovered over Sasuke. The unconscious Uchiha's face contorted suddenly in pain, yet thankfully he did not make a sound. Kabuto's jutsu was in affect now. All he had to worry about now was not getting caught…

* * *

The two opponents for the next match stood down on the main level facing the other. All there was left now was to await the proctor to give them the okay to begin.

On one side stood Yanamaka Ino with her teal eyes locked onto her opponent. Her hands were gripped to her side tightly, preparing herself to both strike and defend at a moment's notice. Standing opposite of her was Inuzuka Kiba, with Akamaru perched atop his head with a determined scowl that matched comically with his master. Yet despite the two's intense glares at the other, the truth was that both were mentally somewhere completely different. Coincidentally, it was even about the same person.

Standing down on the main level, Ino was starting to find it difficult to continue staring straight ahead at her opponent and not at Sakura up on the balcony. When her name had appeared on the screen above, it was not Kiba, her opponent, who she had turned to face. Instead, it had been her former best friend and rival. The other kunoichi at that time had also been looking over at her, though she seemed to have been wearing a look that was different than everyone else's. The others on the balcony just looked at her to see her own reaction to the coming match. On the other hand, Sakura looked at her with a hesitant and worried expression…

Ino's hand shot up from her side and smacked herself in the forehead while shaking her head. What was she thinking?! Why should she care in the slightest about whether Sakura was worried about her or what she thought of her? Perhaps her talk with Hinata back in the Forest of Death had hit a little closer to home than she had first thought. Was she happier now than she was when she and Sakura had been best friends?

But there was no choice, right? Two girls can't be friends when they are in love with the same boy! It just wouldn't have worked out. There would have been constant arguing, they'd both be fighting the other for every bit of Sasuke's attention, and not to mention the mere tension that would arise between the two.

But…didn't that happen anyway? Could things have turned out differently if she and Sakura had remained friends instead…? So many more questions continued to fly through her head, and not one of them could she find an answer to.

Across from her, Kiba was also in his own thoughts, though his were definitely not as perplexing as Ino's. In fact, this fight wasn't just about making Chunin, it was about Sakura too! Not a single day went by that he and Choji did not have to bear an at least five minute rant from Sakura about how Ino was so inferior to her. Sakura would go on and on about every disgusting and dislikable characteristic that her former best friend possessed, so much that Kiba practically new everything about her down to her supposedly overly large shoe size.

Finally, here was his chance to gain Sakura's attention! All he needed to do was beat down Ino for tormenting Sakura for so long, and then he'll finally get the attention he had been working so hard to gain. A confident and excited smile crossed his face as he punched his closed fist into his open palm. This was going to be a piece of cake, for sure!

"Okay," Hayate said, looking between the two contestants and bringing them out of their individual thoughts. "The fifth match of the Chunin Preliminary Exams will be between Yanamaka Ino and Inuzuka Kiba. If the two combatants are ready, you may begin whenever you are ready."

"Alright then," Kiba said confidently as Akamaru hopped off of his head with an excited bark. "Finally time to show everyone just what I'm made of. No offence Ino, but you don't even stand a chance against me!"

Ino's left eye twitched slightly in annoyance. If there were two things that she couldn't stand in the world, they'd be loud mouth annoying punks and people who prejudged her fighting ability before she even gets a chance to prove herself. Just being on the same team as the great Uchiha Sasuke caused most people to overlook her and instead direct their attention toward her teammate. Not to mention the obnoxious stereotype that girls were genetically inferior to boys, which about pissed her off to no end.

But that helped her at times though. Those who underestimated her usually held back, and by the time they finally realize how skilled she truly was, they're usually flat on their back and finding it difficult to stand.

Yet despite the advantages that it supplied…Ino just couldn't bring herself to not talk back at the fleabag in front of her.

"You better watch what you say, Kiba. You may end up eating your own words. I'm on the best team that the academy produced when we graduated. And who'd you get stuck with? Forehead girl and food boy! I feel bad for you. Then again, I feel even worse for your teammates for having to deal with you and that mangy mutt of yours."

"Don't talk down about me, Akamaru, or my teammates!" Kiba yelled while his face contorted in rage. "I hate cocky brats like you! My grades in taijutsu back at the academy were just as good as Uchiha's. I could take him on any day. I'm just as good as he is!"

"Funny," Ino said grinning snidely. "If you're really that good, then why is Shino on our team and not you?"

"She had to put me into this," Shino said with a sigh and shaking his head. Naruto just laughed at the taller boy beside him and patted him sympathetically on the back.

"Alright, that's it!" Kiba shouted even more loudly. "I don't give a damn that you're a girl! They're gonna have to use a broom to sweep up what's left of you after I'm done with you!"

"Now, now, Kiba. You better be good or I'll make sure your mommy won't take you out on your daily walk."

"Shut up! Start the match already proctor so I can deal with her!"

"You moron! He already has started the match!"

"Well good! The sooner I'll be able to beat you down then!"

Kiba immediately gripped his two hands together and quickly began going through several quick hand seals before coming to an end with the tiger seal. Immediately after he was done, his hands unclasped from the other and the hit the ground together, bringing him down on all fours. At first, Ino thought that this was some kind of joke, but her eyes widened suddenly as she watched as the tips of Kiba's fingers seemed to sprout claws and his facial features become even wilder looking than he was normally.

"Shikyaku no Jutsu," Kiba said with a feral grin when he saw Ino notice the changes, also letting her see the larger canines that were in his mouth which looked more like fangs now. "Akamaru, take a break and leave this to me. This girl is mine…"

Ino only had enough time to glimpse Kiba bend down to charge at her before he was practically inches in front of her. Pure instinct saved her from the punishing blow as she spun around Kiba's attack, though one of his clawed hands was still able to scrape her bare shoulder, causing a small trickle of blood to run down her arm.

Ino let out a small grunt before rising back to her feet to face Kiba again. Her eyes widened though when she saw that Kiba had not given her anymore time to collect herself. He was practically on top of her now! With no way to dodge the next attack, the blonde kunoichi raised both of her arms in front of her and was just able to block the elbow that had been about to connect with her stomach. Again, Kiba did not let up. But this time she was ready.

With a small smirk, Ino nimbly dodge Kiba's next swipe. Now that she was behind him, she aimed a hard punch to his head, but he was already able to side step her punch. Both competitors next strikes connected with the other's fist, causing both of them to stagger back as they clutched their hands in pain.

"Not so cocky now that the match has started, huh?" Kiba said with a snarl before crouching down on all fours again. "How are you going to beat me if you can't keep up with me?"

"Please," Ino said smirking back. "You don't even compare to Sasuke when it comes to speed. I have a hard time even seeing him most of the time. Compared to him, you're practically standing still."

"We'll see about that!" Kiba shouted before he began charging at her once again. Again though, Ino was prepared for how fast he was and was able again to maneuver around him before his attack was able to make contact.

What she had said was true. Kiba wasn't nearly as fast as Sasuke was. Never the less though, he was definitely faster than her. And judging by how far back she had skid when she blocked his elbow, he definitely had her out strengthen as well. Lucky for her, he seemed to focus on taijutsu instead of ninjutsu to beat her, and that gave her a chance at winning at least.

If there was one area in combat that Ino had progressed in on her squad, it was taijutsu. Having the best fighter from the academy on your team along with a sensei who specializes in taijutsu can do that to someone. Though she was definitely no match of Sasuke-kun, she was still good enough to force him to be serious when they sparred. She was pretty sure as well that she would have a chance to beat Shino if he just didn't have his bugs helping him out all the time. But Kiba seemed to use a kind of hit and run strategy. He would get in close to land one or two blows and then retreat back fast enough to not get counter attacked. She would have to find a way to draw him in closer to get a few strikes in.

Once again, Ino ducked under another one of Kiba's attacks and attempted a hard upper kick to his chest, but unsurprisingly did not make contact. She was surprised to see that instead of making his way back toward Ino, Kiba turned around instead and fished into his coat and drew out a few small black orbs…

"Smoke bombs!" Ino yelled while trying to get away, but Kiba had already thrown them, enveloping Ino in smoke.

Taking a step back, Ino instinctively covered her face to prevent herself from breathing in any smoke. After all, smoke bombs were used to not only temporary blind the enemy, but to also weaken them as they breathe in the smoke around them. If Ino did that, she would be a sitting duck. But where was Kiba now?

"Tsuuga!"

Ino watched in horror as a gray typhoon shot through the smoke and made solid contact with her, sending her spiraling out of the smoke and onto the ground.

For a moment, Ino just lay there, completely dazed. Slowly though, she regained her senses and stood shakily back to her feet. Kiba stood across from her with a smug look that only fueled her anger further.

"Is that all you've got?" Ino asked, trying to sound tough. "I hope you're not just holding back on me because I'm a girl, because that attack was almost laughable."

"What's laughable is the state you're in!" Kiba said pointing at her. "You look like you're barely able to stand! One more hit and you're finished."

Ino grudgingly admitted that Kiba was right. She was exhausted and the wounds she had received from that last attack had really taken a toll on her. She had to turn this match around somehow. Her hand strayed back to her weapons pouch and felt for how much equipment she had left. Not much it turned out. Most of her weapons had been used up from when they were ambushed by that Orochimaru guy, during the battle with the Genin team from Oto, and when her team had finally acquired their second scroll. She could feel only about ten more shuriken left, three kunai, and some wire string that Sasuke had asked her to hold. She couldn't say that she was as proficient at using the last of the listed equipment as Sasuke was, but she had some basic knowledge of it. She would just have to make due with what she had.

"Alright, here goes nothing," she muttered to herself. Taking one last deep breath, she reached both hands into her weapons pouch and launched six shuriken straight at Kiba.

"Finally getting serious, huh?" Kiba said before dodging one shuriken after the other. After the last projectile harmlessly flew past him, Kiba leapt forward once again right at Ino.

This time though, Ino did not dodge. The Inuzuka's punch connected right into her stomach, forcing most of the air that she had out of her body. At first, Kiba grinned in accomplishment. The same grin soon disappeared though when he noticed Ino's own hands gripping the sleeve of his jacket, preventing him from running away.

Suddenly, Ino reopened her eyes and pulled back her right fist, connecting right into the side of Kiba's face. While still dazed from the first attack, Kiba wasn't even able to see the knee that come up to his stomach unexpectedly, knocking the wind out of him as well. Lastly, Kiba felt a swift kick knock his legs out from under him, putting him face first on the ground.

As quick as she could, Ino whipped out the wire in her weapon's pouch and wrapped it around Kiba's neck.

"Heel, dog boy!" Ino yelled, placing one foot on Kiba's back and pulling up on the wire. Kiba let out a gargled choking noise as both hands went up to the wire around his neck, trying to pry it off.

"Don't even bother," Ino said, pulling up a little more on the wire. "A kunai couldn't even break this stuff without a lot of work. Breaking it with your hands is pretty much impossible. Don't worry though. I'll just wait until you lose consciousness, then I'll let the medics take care of you."

Kiba once again tried to say something to Ino that she couldn't understand, but she had a pretty good idea of what he probably wanted to say.

Just as Ino was beginning to smile, thinking her victory was assured, a sudden high pitch bark sounded from behind her. It was only then that Ino realized her mistake. During her entire fight with Kiba, she had completely forgotten about his dog!

Akamaru suddenly ran around her and into view, but instead of attacking her, he instead went for the wire, biting down on it with all of his might.

"Hey! Get lost, mutt!" Ino yelled, trying her best to keep her hold on Kiba and fend off the small dog at the same time. She pulled back the leg she wasn't using to hold Kiba down and tried to kick him, but Akamaru dodged easily and sailed over her head to dodge.

Just then, something wet dropped onto Ino's head and over her right arm. For a moment, she just stood there and looked up, wondering if the sprinkler system that had turned on to put out Sasuke's fire were malfunctioning or something. Suddenly though, her eyes widened in horror as she looked down to the floor and followed the thin and jagged line of liquid…right to where Akamaru was sitting.

The piercing wail that next left Ino's lips and filled the large arena caused many of the people in the room, combatants and Jonin alike, to cover their ears. Ino let go of the wire that she had in her hands before she started waving her arms in disgust, trying to shake of the warm liquid that now dripped down her arm.

"Eww, eww, eww, eww, eww, eeeewww!" she yelled, touching her hair with her hands and immediately taking them off when she felt just how wet it was.

"Well, that was quite a dirty trick…literally," Shino said with a look that could only be described as revulsion. Naruto did not respond, mostly because he was sure that if he did open his mouth, he would burst out laughing. That Kiba was really something else. Teaching his dog to actually do _that_ to his enemies. What was next? A fart to the face?

Kiba weakly unwrapped the wire from his neck while still on the ground and sat up just as Akamaru ran over to him, yipping worriedly.

"Good boy. Nice use of Dynamic Marking, Akamaru," Kiba said breathlessly as he patted his dog on the head. Akamaru let out a proud bark back at Kiba which he smiled back at.

"I can't believe your mutt just did that!" Ino yelled while pointing at Kiba. While her arm was up she caught a whiff of it and immediately covered her nose because of the odor. "Uhhh! You and that dog are disgusting!"

"Hey, the proctor said anything goes, didn't he?" Kiba said as he stood to his feet. "But I've got to admit, if it wasn't for Akamaru, I would have been done for…Guess this is where play time ends. Akamaru, let's finish this match."

With one last high pitch yip, Akamaru leapt onto his master's head just as Kiba bent down and formed another seal with both hands. Ino watched in shock as Akamaru was suddenly concealed by smoke and reappeared after it was clear, looking exactly like his master.

"What the-?!"

"This will finish it!" Kiba yelled just as his copy leapt off of his back and charged at Ino.

The first strike that Akamaru tried to land missed its mark, but Kiba was right behind to follow up the attack. This time, Ino felt one of Kiba's clawed hands graze her forearm, leaving three long cuts down her arm.

Unlike before though, Ino no longer had any time at all to prepare herself for the next attack. This time, Akamaru was right behind her for another attack. With no other choice of escape, Ino leapt into the air to dodge the attack, barely escaping.

"Gottcha now!" Kiba yelled when he saw Ino leap into the air. "Gatsuuga!" Running forward once again, Kiba launched himself into the air along with Akamaru and both of them became a giant spinning mass of gray. The first one to hit Ino was Akamaru while she was in the air, and Kiba followed up with another strike seconds after the first.

With a loud thud, Ino hit the ground on her back and lay motionless, her vision slowly becoming more and more cloudy. Finally her eyes closed completely and she slipped into unconsciousness.

"The winner of the match," Hayate said while raising his arm opposite of Ino, "is Inuzuka Kiba."

"Alright! We did it, Akamaru!" Kiba yelled pumping his fist as Akamaru returned to his original form and barked back excitedly, running around his master.

Over where Ino laid motionlessly Asuma, Shino, and Sakura all leapt to the main floor together and gathered around Ino. When he saw Sakura, Kiba grinned goofily as he ran to greet his teammate.

"Hey, Sakura-chan! You like my match?" he yelled, as he ran toward her.

He was shocked to find that instead of receiving congratulations, he got a hard slap to the side of the face, making him stagger backwards from the unexpected blow.

"Kiba, you jerk!" Sakura yelled, stomping toward Kiba and jabbing her finger into his chest. "What is wrong with you?! I can't believe you were so cruel to Ino in your fight. Do you even have a conscious?! And what about Akamaru?! I can't believe you actually let your dog take a _piss_ on her!"

"…Wait, I'm cruel?" Kiba asked incredulously, his jaw hanging wide open from Sakura's reaction. "Did you not see her choking me with that wire string?" he asked while pointing at his throat where a line of red that circled around his entire neck.

"You can be so insensitive at times," Sakura said shaking her head before turning around and beginning to ask questions to the medic nin if Ino was going to be okay. Kiba reached one arm after her, but then both of his shoulders slumped down as he stuffed both of his hands into his pockets in defeat.

"Poor Kiba," Choji said. "Even when he wins, he loses."

Sakura, Shino, and Asuma continued to talk with the medic nin about Ino's condition. Kiba on the other hand grudgingly left the main level at once and began climbing the stairs to the balcony, not even glancing at the medic nin that was calling after him to check on his injuries.

"Nice match, Kiba," Choji said, trying to cheer up his teammate as best he could.

"Shut it, Chubby," Kiba growled back before leaning his forehead down on the railing in front of him. Though Choji's left eye did twitch slightly in irritation, he decided not to pry anymore at Kiba.

A minute later Sakura, Shino, and Asuma also joined them on the second level. Though Kiba obviously tried to catch Sakura's eye, she seemed intent on deciding that he no longer existed, instead taking up the empty space that was between Choji and Shikamaru. Shino though leaned back against the wall behind Naruto, his eyes occasionally drifting over to Kiba every moment or so.

"So, uh, Shino," Naruto finally decided to say. "How's Ino look?"

"…The medic nin said that she should be just fine," the bug user said in an usual monotone voice, even for him. "They just want to take her to the hospital to assure that she makes a full recovery. If all goes as planned, she should be out by tomorrow."

The monitor overhead suddenly beeped loudly, making everyone look up simultaneously. While both worrying about Ino and listening to Shino, none of them had been paying attention. In large bold letters overhead it read: **Kankuro vs. Hyuuga Hinata.**

Upon looking up at the next match up, Naruto's eyes immediately shot off of the monitor and onto Hinata. He visibly flinched when he noticed her shaking hands that had moved over her heart. He had hoped that she had moved passed this phase after leaving the academy for so long. But it turns out that she still had the exact same case of stage fright as she's always had. He, of all people, knew just how great of a fighter Hinata was. She could even go toe to toe with Sasuke on a good day back at the academy. She was never by any means a pushover with her Jyuuken style of fighting. The problem would arise though when she would be asked to spar with another student in front of the class. Each time, Hinata would suddenly freeze up and seemed to forget nearly everything she knew.

Hinata's gaze suddenly shifted over to the right to where the Jonins and the Sandaime were standing. Looking over as well, Naruto suddenly realized the second cause of Hinata's anxiety. He should have known Hizashi would have had an affect on her. During her entire match, he will surely be watching and assessing every move, every decision she makes. If there was anybody there who would make Hinata nervous, it was the leader of her clan and uncle.

"Don't worry, Hinata-chan," Naruto said pumping his fist and jumping in front of her to get between her gaze and Hizashi. "This match will be no problem for someone like you! After all the stuff that you've been though like Zabuza and the Forest of Death, this little preliminary match should be no problem."

"Y-yeah. Thanks," Hinata said back, though she did not smile or nod like she usually did when Naruto tried to give her confidence. Instead, her hands seemed to clasp even firmer together as she shakily took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down. Naruto looked past her and over to Shikamaru, seeing his teammate wearing the same look of worry that he had. This was not good at all. Hinata couldn't freeze up now. If she did, there was no chance for her to win.

"Naruto's right, Hinata," Shikamaru said. "Just remember everything you've learned since you left the academy and you'll do great." This time, Hinata didn't even speak, deciding this time to only nod her head.

"Hey! Can whoever I'm up against move it already?" Kankuro yelled, already on the main floor and seemed to be growing more impatient by the second.

Hinata suddenly turned a humiliated shade of scarlet before she hastily turned to make her way to the staircase. In her hurry though, she tripped over her own feet and Naruto had to catch her so that she wouldn't fall face first into the floor. With a quiet thank you to Naruto, she pulled away from him and slowly continued on her way to the main level.

When both opponents were facing each other, Hayate looked from Hinata and Kankuro. If he could wager on which of the two were going to win the match, he would bet on the Suna Genin hands down. He stood up straight and rigid, but he still had his hands tucked away into his pockets, having him look both relaxed and ready both at the same time. It was obvious that he had confidence in both his skills and that victory was near. If Hayate could actually place his expression right now…he would say it was relief. For a moment, he caught a quick flash of Kankuro's eyes glancing to his side and up to the balcony to where his team stood. Perhaps he was merely worried about facing his brother in the prelims Hayate concluded. He wouldn't doubt it. Who would want to face their own family after all?

Hinata on the other hand did not seem confident in the very least. Her eyes could only lock onto her opponent for a couple seconds at a time before they traveled off to another part of the room to look at some random object. Though not tall by any means, she seemed even smaller with her sagged shoulders and bent forward head. It was as if she was intentionally trying to make herself a smaller target. Hayate let out a small sigh before erupting in yet another fit of coughs. If this girl kept this attitude throughout the match, she wasn't going to last too long.

"Well then, if the two combatants are ready, you may begin," the sickly proctor said before taking a small step back to give the opponents space.

Naruto watched Hinata shakily lower herself into a Jyuuken stance, though his teeth immediately clenched together when he saw how many openings she was leaving. Hinata seemed to be partially aware of these openings as well, since she seemed to be constantly adjusting her posture to try and make up for them. In the end though, it only made her look more and more awkward by the moment.

"Hmm," Kankuro said as he took off the strange bandaged object from his back and placed it up right on the floor beside him. "You know…you're kind of cute."

Hinata nearly fell forward in surprise before she once again regained her posture, though her face was a newly deep shade of crimson.

"It'd be a shame to mess up someone with as pretty face as yours," he continued while giving her what he probably thought to be a charming smile. In the end though, his face paint made him only look even creepier. "Why don't you just forfeit and maybe we can get something to eat later on?"

Up on the main balcony, Naruto began to grip the bar in front of him even tighter. This guy was _really _starting to piss him off. Who did he think he was? Like Hinata would ever fall for a creep like him. In his anger, he did not notice the many eyes that had suddenly trailed over to him or the sly smiles that accompanied them.

"…I-I'm s-sorry," Hinata stuttered nervously. "B-but I'm afraid that…um…"

"Ah, I get it," Kankuro said with a disappointed sigh. "There's someone else, huh? Lucky bastard. Guess there's no avoiding this then. Oh well, but don't worry. I'll make sure to go easy on you."

"You think she's going to be okay?" Shikamaru asked Naruto gravely.

"Of course she's going to be okay," Naruto said back angrily. "Hinata will be able to take on this joker no problem."

Shikamaru only looked over at Naruto from the corner of his eye for a moment before averting his eyes from the blonde and nodding slightly. Naruto found it worrisome that his teammate had not responded back verbally.

His attention was immediately brought back to the main level when he saw out of the corner of his eye Hinata race right at her opponent. Charging awkwardly at Kankuro, she pulled back her open palm and thrust it forward to the right side of his body. With a cocky 'hmph' though, Kankuro side stepped the attack and Hinata stumbled past him.

Turning around once again, she dashed back at her opponent with two more Jyuuken powered attacks. The first strike was easily dodged by Kankuro by merely leaning his head slightly to the left. The next was also missed its mark with Kankuro lifting his free arm that wasn't atop his strange, bandaged object and turning aside the blow. With the same arm, he pulled back his fist and punched Hinata powerfully in the stomach, sending her staggering backwards in an attempt to regain all the air that was forced out of her.

"Her attacks are much too obvious and slow," Shino remarked. "It's evident that--"

"Shino, I appreciate your help and all during the second part of the exam, but could you please shut the hell up," Naruto interrupted without even taking his eyes off of Hinata. Naruto hated to admit it, but Shino was right. Even from this distance and being a novice in Jyuuken he could clearly tell where Hinata was aiming and when it would hit…

"Kakashi, shouldn't you shout some encouragement to your student?" Kurenai whispered over at the Copy Nin. "At this rate, this match is going to be over before she even lands a single hit."

"Even if I did it wouldn't help," Kakashi replied in just as soft of voice. "There's only one person here who can supply Hinata with enough confidence for this match. We'll just have to see if he speaks up in time before its too late…"

Meanwhile, Kankuro waited patiently for his opponent to attempt her next attack. He grinned cockily when he noticed her outstretched hands were now beginning to shake. He was hoping that he would get an easy match so that he wouldn't have to show too many of his techniques, but this was starting to get ridiculous. By the way his opponent was fighting it was surprising that she even got out of the ninja academy here in Konoha, let alone the Forest of Death. Obviously, Konoha was even more foolish than he thought when it came to training their shinobi.

Once again, Hinata dashed at him and he again dodged the glowing blue hand's strike. He knew fully well what those deceivingly weak attacks could do to him from the match that other Hyuuga took part in. Luckily for him, none of the attacks were coming close to being difficult to dodge or turn aside and his opponent was constantly wide open for a counterattack.

Letting go of his bandaged item just once, he ducked under one more attack and knocked Hinata's legs out from under her with a spin kick. Standing back to his feet, he pulled back his fist and aimed a hard punch toward her head. He may not be a very proficient taijutsu fighter like Hyuuga Neji or that freaky eyebrow guy, but he did know how to throw a hard punch.

Hinata quickly rolled on her side and narrowly dodged the attack. She quickly leapt to her feet and flipped backwards nimbly to avoid Kankuro's next two punches. Breathing deeply, she shakily raised her hands once more in a fighting stance.

"Kankuro's going too soft on the girl," Temari remarked critically. "If he was actually fighting for real, this match would have been over seconds after that proctor told them to start." Beside her, Gaara didn't answer her. No surprise there though.

"Alright, I'll give you one last chance," Kankuro said. "Just give up this match and we can move on with this exam. It's obvious that you can't beat me. All you need to do is give up and we can both walk away with little to no injuries."

"Don't you listen to a word he says, Hinata!" Naruto suddenly yelled. Immediately, Hinata's violet eyes shot up to him, staring at him in surprise. Behind him, Kakashi smiled at his student in satisfaction.

"This jerk doesn't know anything about you!" Naruto continued. "You're an awesome fighter! This guy doesn't even compare to Zabuza and Haku, and you were able to take both of them on. And back in the Forest of Death, you protected me, Sasuke, and Shino!"

_Apparently he's forgotten all about me and Ino, _Shikamaru thought with a sigh, though he realized that this was not the time to point that out.

"All you have to do is believe that you can do it, Hinata! We all believe you can! Shikamaru, Kakahsi-sensei, and me too! You go get him!"

_So he's the lucky bastard, _Kankuro thought bitterly as he stared up at the blonde haired brat. Just add another reason to hate him to the list he supposed. He still remembered quite clearly the night when he and Uchiha had disrespected him and his village during Temari's shogi match with that Nara kid. His only regret at the moment was that he didn't have the opportunity to wring his neck during the prelims. But he would have his chance…eventually.

With one last aggravated grunt, Kankuro turned back to Hinata to prepare for her next attack. His brows furrowed though when he saw that she was still gazing up at the brat, a mixed look of shock and happiness across her face. But Kankuro could also see something else mixed in with the other two emotions…sadness?

Finally, Hinata closed her eyes and let in a deep breath, allowing her arms to drop limply to her sides in relaxation. For a moment, Kankuro felt a small bit of anger fill within him. For someone who is doing so poorly in her match, she must be pretty confident to leave herself so vulnerable for an attack.

Suddenly, Hinata's violet eyes reopened. With a look of fierce determination that she had never worn before, Hinata quickly began going through hand seals. After the final hand seal was finished, both of her hands suddenly became incased with purple electricity, illuminating her features in violet light.

"What the…" Kankuro began to mutter to himself.

"Raiton: Denkou Tama no Jutsu!" Hinata yelled. Pulling back right arm, she suddenly jabbed it forward with her middle and index fingers extended.

Kankuro's eyes widened in shock as the first bolt of electricity shot toward him, giving him just enough time to dodge the lightning attack. With another jab of her other hand, another shot right at Kankuro and was forced to kneel down and use his wrapped up parcel that he had his right hand on to block it. To his surprise, the attack didn't hit hard. In fact, Kankuro didn't even have to put any effort to keep his balance. It was almost as if this attack wasn't meant to be very damaging. Hell, as far as he knew, it did nothing. But he wasn't going to take the chance.

Standing up once again, his jaw went limp when he saw that his opponent had disappeared. Spinning around, he felt his breath quicken when he saw that she was not there as well. If there was one thing that a shinobi never wants to happen, it's to lose sight of his opponent in the midst of a battle.

It was mere luck that Kankuro decided to look down toward ground, just to find any clue for where Hinata might have gone. He caught his breath though when he saw another shadow hovering above his own. It flickered in intensity, almost as if a light above it was flashing on and off repeatedly.

Not even bothering to look up, Kankuro dodged out of the way just as he saw a glowing, purple figure land directly where he was. A shockingly loud explosion like a thunder crack filled the arena, making Kankuro even gladder that he had dodged the attack. Looking back, he saw that instead of just his opponent's hands covered in electricity, nearly her entire right arm had become encased in it. Not just that, but it actually extended a couple feet past her arm and forming up as if into a point.

_Looks like I underestimated her from before, _Kankuro thought as he grabbed one of the bandages that were wrapped around whatever was beside him and tore it off, forming a small hole in the bandages.

"I had been hoping that I wouldn't have to use this during these preliminary matches," Kankuro said while shaking his head, "but it doesn't look like you're giving me that much of a choice."

Extending his right hand toward the hole, five strings of chakra suddenly shot from his fingers and into the hole. A moment later, all of the bandages tore off the item and the item drooped over Kankuro's shoulders, revealing for what it truly was, a very large wooden puppet. It was based off of a human, if only barely. It had four skinny arms that looked very much alike as its legs, and it had a ragged head and three eyes, its mouth opening and closing randomly as it made rapid clicking noises.

"That's what he's been carrying around this entire time?" Naruto asked.

"Hmm, I see that the rumors are true, then," Asuma said.

"What do you mean?" Shino asked, looking up at his sensei curiously.

"Well," Asuma said as he removed the cigarette that was in his mouth so he could speak clearer, "Out of all of the Hidden Villages that are around, none of them are known better for chakra control than Sunagakure. Using that proficiency in it, they've also adapted several unorthodox styles of combat. A good example is how Temari is able to freely manipulate the wind caused by her fan with her chakra. But if we judge them by their ways of combat alone, this boy has greater chakra control than even his sister."

"Really?" Choji asked, looking back at the puppet master on the main floor. "He's really that good at it?"

"Of course," Asuma continued. "Puppeteers control their marionettes using chakra strings that outstretch from their fingers. These strings can't be cut and the upside is that though it is difficult to perform, it takes little chakra to master it. I've heard stories of puppeteers from Suna battling for hours without even moving a single inch, using only their puppets to fight their battles. Unfortunately, since the chakra control required is so rare among shinobi, only a few of them are ever alive at one time. The rumor I was referring to was that Suna had finally found a worthy apprentice to the art for the first time in twenty years."

"Well, it doesn't seem to be that big of deal. It actually seems pretty cowardly if you ask me," Kiba said, attempting to not look impressed. "If he was a real man, he wouldn't rely on his puppet to fight and do it himself."

"Well, it is common knowledge that most puppeteers are usually limited to basic taijutsu at best since they mainly rely on their puppets for combat. If Hinata wants any hope to win this match, she's going to have to get past that puppet and then have enough strength to fight Kankuro."

"Don't count her out yet," Naruto said firmly. "Don't worry, Hinata-chan! If he's bringing out that puppet of his it only means that he's afraid that you'll beat him! You got him right where you want him! Don't give up!"

For a moment, Kankuro just stood still, examining Hinata and trying his best to ignore the annoying shouts of the brat on the balcony. He wasn't sure if it had anything to do with said brat's speech from before or whether she was just holding back on him during the first part of their fight, but it was obvious that this was no longer the timid opponent he had been facing a moment ago. Whatever the reason was, he could no longer take his opponent lightly. If he was going to win now, he would have to be careful.

Bringing his arms to his right side, he swung them to the other side of his body and Karasu leapt from his shoulders, sailing right at Hinata. Opening its mouth, three kunai shot from the opening at Hinata, forcing her to dodge to the side to avoid them. Not allowing his opponent any time to recover, Kankuro once again sent Karasu charging after Hinata, producing blades from its palms and using all four hands to try and get a hit in. Apparently though, his opponent seemed to be a proficient dodger. Not only was she able to avoid each of the attacks, but she never lost balance even while she backed further and further away. Some of her dodges even impressed Kankuro, such as when she bent nearly completely backwards once to avoid a scissor style strike from the puppet.

Finally, Hinata had her back to the wall, facing her wooden opponent with slightly worried eyes.

"Don't worry," Kankuro shouted from across the room where he stood. "I'll make sure not to kill you. Just hold still so that I can avoid hitting a vital point."

Outstretching both of his arms forward, Kankuro opened both of his hands completely and his puppet once more shot at Hinata, producing sharp kunai from its palms once again. Suddenly, Hinata's hands once again erupted in electricity and she again charged straight at the puppet. Bringing back her hand, she struck directly at the center of the puppet with a single jab and dodged the four swipes from each arm. Though the attack did nothing to stop her attacker, she was still somehow able to get by it and began charging right at Kankuro once again with Karasu still behind her.

"Shit!" Kankuro yelled as he brought back both of his arms to bring Karasu back. The puppet shot off after Hinata and again began swiping at her from behind. Yet even with the marionette attacking from such an ideal position, Hinata continued to dodge each and every strike. Kankuro cursed once more when he realized that he'd have to get Karasu in front of him for any hope of getting out of this attack unscathed.

"Alright," Kankuro said, bringing back his arms again to bring Karasu in front of him. As soon as Karasu was finished attacking Hinata though, she once again went through several hand seals, forming lightning around her hands again. Jabbing her arm forward, another small ball of lightning shot from Hinata's hand and this time hit Kankuro directly in the right shoulder. As soon as his arm made contact with the electrical attack, it suddenly tightened painfully and then went completely numb, falling limply to his side.

While still gaping at his limp arm, he had nearly forgotten about Karasu, whose right side seemed to have gone just as limp as Kankuro's. Suddenly, from out of the puppet's limp, right arm, a small and round purple ball dropped onto the ground.

"Oh fu-"

Kankuro quickly stopped himself in mid sentence and took in a deep breath before covering his mouth with his arm. A split second later, the small purple ball exploded into a purple smoke, enveloping both him and his opponent at the same time.

Wasting no time, Kankuro quickly rose to his feet and dashed out of the smoke as fast as he could, letting out his breath only after he was several meters away from the poisonous smog.

A moment later, Hinata too jumped out of the smoke though when she finally halted, her legs suddenly began to shake weakly, making her nearly fall to the ground. She however did not take her eyes off of Kankuro for one moment, looking as if she would be ready to strike at any moment.

"I suggest that you give up now," Kankuro said, still breathing deeply. "You inhaled some of the poison, didn't you?"

At the word 'poison', Hinata's purple eyes went wide and seemed as though she was about to say something, but she suddenly went in a vicious coughing fit that even rivaled the proctor's. When she was finished, she unsteadily raised both her arms again and faced her opponent, though her once determined eyes seemed slightly more glazed over than before. Slowly, she began to edge closer to Kankuro, her eyes darting at him and her surroundings at the same time, still focused completely on the battle despite the poison's effects.

"Why do you keep fighting like this?" Kankuro asked with a scowl. He stood back up to full height again and flexed his right arm, slowly feeling it come back to life. "It's over. If you don't quit now then the poison-"

"I'm doing this," Hinata interrupted, speaking for the first time since the match had begun, "for someone that is precious to me."

A few moments past while Hinata went into another furious fit of coughs. When she was done, a small trickle of blood dripped down the corner of her mouth, yet despite it she still wore a placid smile. It wasn't toward Kankuro though. It was obvious that her thoughts had trailed off to other subjects.

"Ever since we met he's always looked out for me," Hinata continued. "He's protected me from bullies to enemy shinobi. I'm going to show him that he doesn't need to worry about me anymore, that I can take care of myself from now on. That way, he can worry less about my own future, and more about his own."

Hinata suddenly dashed forward once again, both of her arms now engulfed with more electricity than ever. Kankuro didn't waste time. He immediately shot out chakra threads at Karasu again and raised the marionette in front of him, separating himself from Hinata. His heart seemed to stand still for a moment as he heard a loud crunching sound of wood breaking. Next, the right arm of Karasu buckled backwards as a large amount of wood fell off of him, littering the ground with splinters.

An even louder crack sounded from the puppet as Hinata attacked one last time in its mid section, causing it to lean forward and spit out several kunai to the floor, which bounced off of the stone surface harmlessly.

With her right arm, Hinata pushed away the puppet and took three strong steps forward until she was only inches away from Kankuro. He didn't even have enough time to swear before the first combined electric and Jyuuken powered strike connected with his still recovering right shoulder. He gritted his teeth in pain as he felt his flesh become burned. It wasn't only that though. Every muscle he knew about in that area and many more suddenly burst into pain, as if his insides were being attacked as well. So this is the fighting power of the Hyuuga he has heard about…

The next attack hit him in the lower left chest. He could tell by the way she was striking that she was trying her best to avoid his heart. That didn't mean she wasn't still doing a number on him just the same.

Kankuro watched in slow motion as Hinata pulled back her open palm one last time. The Suna Genin could tell by her motions that this was meant to be the final strike. He had little doubt that it was all she needed to end the match as well.

Hinata's open palm continued its way at Kankuro. But just before it made contact, the purple electricity and light blue Jyuuken chakra suddenly disappeared, causing Hinata's attack to become nothing more than a hard shove to his chest. Simultaneously, both he and Hinata looked down at her hand, neither quite believing completely what had happened.

Once again, Hinata suddenly burst into coughs, this time splattering several drops of blood onto Kankuro's shirt. With one last glance to her right, up at the balcony, she fell forward with her eyes shut.

Hayate hurriedly approached Hinata and knelt down to check her as Kankuro slowly backed away, clutching his right shoulder with his left arm with pain etched across his face. After a moment, the proctor stood back to his feet. "Hinata can no longer continue the match," he said, raising his arm toward Kankuro. "Therefore, Kankuro wins."

A mere fraction of a second later, Naruto leapt from the balcony from where he was standing and knelt beside Hinata as well. Soon after, both Kakashi and Shikamaru were next to him also, though he barely even noticed their presence as he continued to stare down at Hinata.

Naruto suddenly rose to his feet and turned his head, locking eyes directly with Kankuro. He took three steps forward until he was only inches away from him. Not for the first time, he wished that he was taller so that he wouldn't have to look up at Kankuro, but now wasn't the time to think of that.

"You must have an antidote for that poison that you used," Naruto said, his voice showing signs that he was on the edge of attacking Kankuro right there. "You covered your mouth so that you wouldn't inhale any of it. If you had and didn't have something to cure it, you'd be screwed. Fork it over."

"Pretty cocky for a kid who wants a pretty big favor," Kankuro said back, though he did wince in pain as he talked. That girl's attack had done more of a number on him than he had first thought. Never the less, he wasn't going to let this kid boss him around.

Naruto's nostrils flared in rage as he gripped both of his hands into a fist. From behind him, Shikamaru glanced first to Kankuro, then to Kakashi, and finally to Naruto. Or more exactly, at the back right side of Naruto's neck…

For a moment, the two Genin continued to stare angrily at each other. Finally, with an angry huff, Kankuro dug deep into his shirt and pulled out a small vial capped with a needle.

Not even saying a word of thanks, Naruto snatched the antidote away from Kankuro and quickly opened it up, thrusting the needle into Hinata's shoulder. For a couple moments, nothing changed. Slowly though, her breathing became less and less ragged and her eyes were no longer clenched shut in pain.

"Get her to your hospital," Kankuro said as he turned to pick up the ruined remains of Karasu and began making his to the balcony. "She should be fine now, but you should still keep an eye on her just in case."

Trying his best to ignore his wounds, Kankuro slowly made his way up to the second level and plopped both himself and Karasu against the wall behind his team, letting out one grunt in pain as he hit the floor. From out of his weapons pouch he pulled out a large array of tools and immediately got to work, letting out a low groan as he fully realized what condition Karasu was in. The amount of damage that girl had done was more than he had thought. She must have used most of her energy trying to destroy the puppet before getting to him. If she had attacked at full power, he probably wouldn't be conscious right now…

"Shouldn't you get a medic nin to look at those wounds?" Temari asked. Kankuro almost laughed, amazed that even while concerned about him she still continued to sound as bossy as ever. His sensei, Baki also looked down at him with a slightly worried look on him as well. Gaara on the other hand didn't even seem to be aware that he was even behind him…

"They'll heal on their own," Kankuro grumbled back. "Her attacks don't seem to do much long lasting damage. Give me a little while and I'll be back up…"

"Well, shouldn't you wait fixing that puppet of yours until we leave?" she pressed on. "You should keep watching the matches in case you end up fighting one of them later on."

"With Hyuuga and that big eyebrow kid gone, we don't have much more to worry about here. Besides, it's going to take me weeks to fix all the damage done to Karasu. The sooner I get started, the better."

For a moment, Temari just continued to watch Kankuro work on his puppet. He's always been so stubborn, even when he was just a child. But she was pretty sure that his stubbornness came more from not wanting her to worry than arrogance. Like they didn't have enough to worry about while being around Gaara…

By this time, the medical nins had already finished healing most of Hinata's external wounds and were now loading her onto a stretcher to transport her.

"Don't worry, kid," one of the younger looking medic nins said kindly to Naruto as he and his partner rushed by. "We'll make sure nothing happens to her."

Naruto nodded back at him as he continued to watch them leave the arena. From behind him, Shikamaru let out a big sigh of relief. While Kankuro and Naruto were having their stand off, the seal on the back of Naruto's neck had begun to glow faintly. As time had gone by, it had slowly begun to make its way up Naruto's neck. It immediately disappeared though when Kankuro had handed over the antidote…apparently, it seemed that the seal was activated when the wearer is angered. Or apparently, thinking back to the Forest of Death, when the wearer is in extreme danger. Peculiar…Naruto's other seal reacts slightly in the same way.

But now, Naruto's face was no longer contorted in rage. Instead, it shone with genuine worry. Shikamaru wasn't surprised though. Naruto was constantly looking out for Hinata's well being. His concern was even more noticeable after their return from the Land of Waves. Or perhaps more likely, after his induction into the Hyuuga clan.

_I should say something to cheer him up…_ Shikamaru thought to himself. He was about to open his mouth, but stopped as a newcomer suddenly stepped up beside him.

Naruto stiffened suddenly as he felt an adult hand fall onto his shoulder. Looking up to his side, he was surprised to see Hizashi standing beside him, watching as the medic nins continued to rush Hinata out the door.

"Don't worry," he said reassuringly, finally looking down at the blonde boy. "As you know, Hinata is strong. She'll be able to pull through just fine."

For a moment, Naruto just continued to stare up at Hizashi. He was surprised to find though that his shock of the situation was not nearly as high as he would have thought. Now that he thought about it, Hizashi had never given him any reason to hate him. With the exception of activating his seal during his induction into the clan and constantly lecturing him on using honorifics for the other clan members, there was nothing else Naruto could think of where Hizashi had done him wrong. He wasn't quite yet ready to look at him as a family member, let alone as a father figure. That was reserved for Iruka-sensei alone. Still…it felt nice.

During his brooding, Naruto hadn't noticed that the computer above him had turned on once again until it let out a loud beep to show the next two combatants. Above in bright gold letters read: **Uzumaki Hyuuga Naruto vs. Tsurugi Misumi.**

"My turn," Naruto whispered to himself, gripping his fist once more. Perfect. He still had some left over rage from that bastard who had beaten Hinata. This would be a good way to vent some of his frustration.

"You are the only one of the Hyuuga clan left in the Chunin exams," Hizashi said as he pulled his hand off of Naruto's shoulder and turned to begin his way back to where the other Jonin and Chunin were positioned. "I expect nothing less than your best while representing our clan."

"You got it, Hizashi-sama," Naruto said with a small chuckle, knowing that this was probably how the Hyuuga clan leader said "good luck". Turning back to the proctor, he gave a small nod to him and pointed up at both of the balconies. "Alright, who's this Tsurugi guy and why isn't he down here already?! I'm not going to wait here all day to start kicking his ass."

For a second, Hizashi began to turn around to voice his disapproval to Naruto's words, but instead a soft chuckle escaped his lips. He sounded so much like _him_…and for a brief moment, he could have sworn that he could have seen the shadow of his childhood friend, pointing up to the second level right beside Naruto.

"You would have been proud of him, my friend…" Hizashi whispered as he once again began to make his way to his former spot. "Naruto, make us all proud."

* * *

_Well, there we are guys. Though it might be futile to ask, please, please don't hassle me too much about updating sooner. As I said, I've been a little bit brain dead lately and not much was coming to mind for this chapter. It's not as much that I don't feel like writing, it's just that I don't have any inspiration at the time or I just can't pull out any fresh ideas. Some days I can write for hours without stopping or getting stuck, other times I just can't write for shit (I actually had to redo the first part of this chapter because it sucked so much). Really, I don't want to rush because more often than not it makes the chapter lose its quality coughchapternineteencoughcough, and I don't want to waste your guy's time with my fic. All I ask is for you guys to be patient. Know that I will eventually update. If I ever decide to stop (which is by no means in the near future) I'll be sure to notify you all. Other than that, I have not much else to say._

_Again everybody, thank you all for reading my fic. Thank you even more if you decide to drop in a review while you're at it. A simple good job will suffice. Anonymous reviews are welcome as well. Just let me know that you are enjoying the fic. And if you aren't enjoying the fic, constructive criticism is also accepted and appreciated. No flaming please, I need all of the motivation I can get XD. Other than that everyone, I'll see you around for the next chapter._

_GAZ_

_Jutsu list__  
__Raiton: Denkou Tama no Jutsu (Lightning Shot): A low level lightning jutsu. The user sends a low power electric attack up through his/her arm and fires it at their opponent. It is generally used to temporarily numb the enemy's body instead of hurting them, leaving them open for an attack. Though it is originally weak in power, it can become more damaging when more chakra is applied to the jutsu. (Original Jutsu by me)_

_Shikon no Jutsu (Dead Soul Technique): the user __uses a dead body to create the illusion of another living person. The ninja can either animate a normal dead person, or alter the appearance of the dead person to resemble another (definition from leafninja(dot)com)_


	23. Message from GAZ: I'm Not Dead!

Hey everyone, it's me GAZ.

I suppose you have all already realized by now that this is not a _chapter _update. Since I haven't posted a chapter as I usually do around this time, I'm putting this out instead. Basically, it's to tell everyone two details.

Detail Number One: I'm not dead.

Detail Number Two: I have not abandoned A Different Path.

I'm going to be frank with you guys. There honestly isn't any excuse for my lack of updates. The only reason I haven't done so is that I have been EXTREMELY busy as of late. With school starting once again, it's going to be more difficult to find time to write and balance it out with work as well. Not to mention the various obligations that I've made to others as well as myself, and just taking some time off to just relax in general.

So, that's about all I have. With the weekend here, I should be able to have some time to do some serious sit down time and just think about the next chapter and work further into it. As for when the update will be, I can't promise anything unfortunately except that I'll be sure to be working harder to find time to write.

Thank you all for being patient and following my story. I'm blessed to have so many people following my work. Each review, favorite story, and favorite author email I get is enough to make me smile no matter how bad the day has been.

I'll see you all when the next chapter comes out. Just please be patient up until then. Once again, thank you for reading everyone and sorry for the long update.

GAZ

PS: One more thing. I don't expect or need any reviews for this "chapter". This is for you guys, not me. Plus, I'd rather receive reviews (which are the basis on this site whether a fic is "good" or not) from my chapters than one of these. If you do feel the need to send a message though, just click on my homepage and send me a PM. Until the next chapter everyone, this is GAZ signing out.


	24. The Will of Fire Still Burns

_That's right everyone…it's a frickin' update! Again, I apologize for the long update. Lot's of work and not so much free time is to blame. Not to mention the massive writers block that I had. Anyways, let's just cut to the chase and get onto the chapter. Hope you like it._

* * *

Though not by any means a shinobi of lofty authority or even of high regard in his village, Umino Iruka was a shinobi of Konoha through and through. Though it was true that his repertoire of missions was lacking compared to most other Chunin his age due to his duties at the Academy, he knew what it meant to be a shinobi. Quite literally in fact.

He could list off in perfect order and word by word the one hundred plus laws of the shinobi off the top of his head and was able to recite what each member's specific responsibilities were during a mission and what they are expected to do in any situation according to their strengths, weaknesses, and professions. Again, this was thanks to his career as a teacher, since it was imperative that an instructor knows _exactly _what he was talking about when teaching his or her students. Any blunder in the classroom, no matter how minute, may result in a massive catastrophe in future generations, which is why instructors for potential ninjas are selected with such care.

But outside of that, Iruka knew all the things that a shinobi should know that one could not learn in any kind of book, but only on missions and by personal experience. He knew what it was like to tell a wounded comrade that he was going to be alright when it was perfectly clear that he was only moments away from death. He knew that it was a shinobi's duty to carry out the mission that he was assigned to without any question or second thoughts, no matter what his own morals or beliefs he clung to. And most of all, he knew how to put fear of death for himself and his comrades behind him for the sake of the mission at hand. If he would tell any of the regular run of the mill citizens of Konoha these statements, they would most likely think of him as cold or even malicious. But the truth was that it was a shinobi's duty to put that behind him for the sake of his own village, for that was the only thing that mattered to the shinobi.

But now, despite all of the past training that he had gone through and the literally hundreds of missions that he had carried out, Iruka couldn't help but find himself more frightened than he's been for quite some time. In the large room in front of him from where he stood was his former student, Uzumaki Naruto, faced his opponent, a man nearly twice his age and height. Yet despite this seemingly disadvantage, Naruto stared forward at the taller man with an unwavering and fierce will of determination that he was always known for. Not for the first time, Iruka felt a sense of pride for the young boy, but the fear did not leave him.

When Iruka had first learned that his former students from the academy had been entered into the Chunin Exam not even a year after their graduation, he thought that the one who had told him was telling some kind of poorly executed joke. When he found out that it was the honest to goodness truth, he immediately voiced his opposition to the idea to the Hokage, but he was eventually overruled and was left with no say in the matter.

After a day of brooding on the subject though, he calmed down and reassured himself that there was hardly any chance that any of them would even get past the first part of the exam anyways. He was even further convinced when he learned that Morino Ibiki had been assigned for the first time in many years as the proctor for the first exam. Imagine his surprise though when he found Naruto later that afternoon shouting happily that he had apparently swept through the first exam without a hitch.

Once again, Iruka's fear had sprung up, for he knew exactly what kind of dangers the Forest of Death held. He tried once more a vain attempt to convince Naruto out of the exam, but it didn't take long to realize his attempts were pointless and that nothing could force the headstrong Genin to reconsider.

And so Iruka spent several long days going about his business as usual while his former students fought for their lives within the hell that was the Forest of Death. He never approached the forest for one that it was heavily guarded by Chunin and Jonin alike to assure that none interfered with the exam, and two that he just could not bring himself to face the fact that one of the Genins that he had once taught might not come out alive. Every year there was at least one of his former students that did not return, but he had foolishly become attached to several of the rookie Genins from the previous year, not to mention Naruto.

When he had first offered the seemingly hopeless boy extra lessons so he could get extra help in his studies, he had vowed to not allow himself to put Naruto on a higher pedestal above the other students. In that, he absolutely failed miserably. The longer the lessons went on, the more he got to know Naruto and exactly what he had gone through with his entire life. The more he learned of the boy's courage, the more that he grew attached to him, and soon the two had a relationship that rivaled that of many parents and children. Iruka would be the first to say that favoritism is not a trait that any teacher should have, but he'd rather face a Sannin in battle than admit that he regretted anything that he had done in the last two years.

And finally, here he was. Not only did the same Genin that he had been so worried about survive the second exam, but they had actually _passed _as well. This shocked Iruka above all else. It had taken him three tries and several years of training to get this far when he was a Genin. But it didn't stop there. Each one of them continued to surpass any and all expectations that he had. Words could not express how stunned he was at Hinata's performance during her match, and it had taken some serious willpower on his part to not shout to the ceiling in frustration at how damn close she had come to winning! If it hadn't been for that stinking poison…what a cheap trick!

And now after that emotional rollercoaster, Iruka was now feeling even more anxious than ever as he waited for the proctor to begin the match between Naruto and this Genin that Iruka couldn't even recall ever seeing before. He noticed that many of the supervisors present, especially any who originated from Konoha, had suddenly become much more interested in the exam when Naruto's name had flashed on the computer above their heads. In fact, the proctor for the second exam, Mitirashi Anko, seemed to be whispering something feverishly into the Hokage's ear. The elder man responded calmly back, though judging by the kunoichi's reaction it was not the response she had wanted to hear.

"Alright," Hayate said finally, looking between the two opponents. "The seventh match of the Chunin preliminary exam will be between Uzumaki Naruto and Tsurugi Misumi. If there are no objections from the two combatants, you may-"

Hayate suddenly stopped speaking as he caught out of the corner of his eye an ANBU guard who had just appeared, kneeling in front of the Hokage. For a moment, everyone was silent and confused about what had caused the proctor to stop himself, but soon all attention was fully focused on the new visitor.

Ignoring the numerous stares that were locked onto him, the elite ninja rose to his feet and began to whisper into Sarutobi's ear. After another few moments, Sarutobi's eyes widened suddenly in surprise, causing everyone's curiosity to grow even more. With a slightly reluctant look, the elderly man looked up to the balcony and beckoned his son, Sarutobi Asuma, back onto the main level. With what seemed like almost equal reluctance, Asuma leapt from the higher level and landed beside his father.

"What you think is going on?" Choji asked as he leaned forward to try and get a better look at what they might be talking about.

"Heck if I know," Shikamaru said back, for once looking interested in the situation at hand.

"_What_?!"

Several of the Genin in the room jumped in surprise at Asuma's booming response of whatever he had just heard. He lowered his voice for whatever he said next, but it was still apparent that Asuma was quite angry and disturbed by the way he was reacting.

"But…there's no way…" Kakashi suddenly said from behind Shikamaru and Choji. Each of the Genin turned at once to face the famed Copy Nin of Konoha. Even with his mask shielding nearly all of his facial features to the group; it was apparent by his single visible eye alone that he was now in a state of both shock and disbelief.

"What's with you?" Shikamaru asked raising an eyebrow at his sensei. "Don't tell me that you can actually hear them all the way up here."

"…Not exactly. I was reading their lips," Kakashi responded back. With this new thought in mind, Shikamaru suddenly began to rethink Kakashi's seemingly unreasonable decision to shield his face. After all, as one of Konoha's well known and elite shinobi he was well known throughout the entire village. Apparently he had a popular reputation in other villages as well, or else Zabuza would never have recognized him. Not to mention that if someone didn't recognize him right away by his face alone, they would be able to easily to distinguish him with his strangely shaped silver hair style.

"And…?" Shikamaru pressed further, not allowing his sensei to keep whatever he had learned to himself. "Happen to know anything that we should be concerned with?"

For a moment, Kakashi seemed to hesitate whether to continue or not. In the end however, he let out a sigh and shook his head in defeat.

"Kakashi…" Kurenai said warningly, not seeming to approve of what Kakashi was about to do.

"They'll all find out on their own anyways. They're all smart kids," he said. His gaze momentarily shifted to Shikamaru for a fraction of a moment, but he closed his eye soon after. "…It seems," Kakashi began, "that someone has broken into Sasuke's hospital room."

"What?!" Sakura yelled, seemingly the most distraught out of everyone at this news. Shino, who up until that moment had not even turned his head back to look Kakashi, suddenly locked his hazel eyes onto the copy nin.

"Relax," Kakashi said calmly back to the panicking kunoichi. "Hokage-sama said that he is still safe in his room with a new team of ANBU protecting him and an elite squad of medical ninjas checking for any injuries. As of yet though, it doesn't seem that Sasuke has been harmed in any way."

"How did this happen?" Shino asked gruffly, pressing further into the issue. "Didn't you have anyone guarding him?"

"That's the thing," Kakashi continued, his eyes still shut. "After…escorting him to the hospital I made sure to gather three well trained ANBU guards to protect him. Apparently, all three of them have been killed."

"It is my understanding that only the most elite of shinobi are selected as ANBU, and even for them it is no easy task to gain admittance," Shino continued.

"That's exactly the point," Kakashi said, almost more to himself than anybody else. He had personally handpicked each of the shinobi himself in case Orochimaru decided to take advantage of Asuma's as well as his own absence when Sasuke was alone. To be fair, the shinobi that he had stationed to guard Sasuke was a precaution more than a necessity. He had been fairly convinced that the Sannin would not make his move now, but later to capture Sasuke. After all, he had the perfect opportunity to do so when he had revealed himself to Kakashi face to face after sealing the cursed mark. Not had he only been drained after completing the sealing jutsu, but Kakashi knew full well that even at his best he was no match for Orochimaru. Had he miscalculated? Or could it perhaps not have been Orochimaru at all? If it wasn't, for what reason would they enter Sasuke's room, kill three ANBU members, and just leave? Something smelt fowl about the whole situation…

During Kakashi's thoughts, Asuma finally made his way back up the flight of stairs and onto the second level, still wearing the same look of discontent that he had worn when talking to his father.

"How could this happen?" he asked, taking up the spot in between Kakashi and Kurenai. His question was not accusing Kakashi of any fault, but it was apparent that he still had plenty of anger left over for the entire situation in general.

"I'm sorry that I hadn't prepared for something like this more in advance," Kakashi said earnestly. "I didn't expect this to-"

"Don't worry," Asuma interrupted while lighting yet another cigarette. "You did everything that I would have. My only regret is that we weren't able to catch the bastard in the end. He impersonated as an ANBU shinobi, took out the guards, and then destroyed the cameras so we wouldn't see his face. If those guys in security would have only been doing their jobs for once then none of this-"

"Don't worry. Sasuke is fine and that is all that matters," Kakashi said reassuringly.

Asuma took one very long drag of his cigarette and nodded back solemnly, seemingly to have gone deep into thought of the situation as a whole. "Well, he's fine as far as any of us know as of now…"

"…Alright," Hayate spoke up again with a loud cough, "as I was saying. If the two combatants are ready, you may begin."

"My pleasure," the taller of the two Genin spoke snidely as he bent down into an unfamiliar fighting stance to Naruto. "I must admit, I find myself both curious and excited to be facing the infamous Uzumaki _Hyuuga_ Naruto, the living memento of Konoha's greatest tragedy."

Naruto's left eye twitched slightly, recognizing immediately the obvious reference towards the significance of his birthday. He also noticed the obvious stress that was put into "Hyuuga" when he had recited his name. Naruto slowly took a deep breath to try and keep his anger in check. He had lost some control over it after Hinata's match had concluded, but he was lectured soon after she was carried away by Kakashi-sensei. Though he almost hated to admit it, his sensei had been right. If he got too angry, he might become sloppy or maybe even do something stupid in his rage. And also, something about this guy rubbed Naruto the wrong way as well. Something told him that he should take extra care in fighting him.

"But I'm not as cruel as the rest of the village," Misumi went on, slowly stepping to the side around Naruto. "Let me give you some advice. Once you're ensnared in my jutsu, give up and I'll let you live. That's the only warning you'll get from me."

Ensnared?

Naruto found it difficult to contain his smile after hearing this. This guy had basically just told him the basic concept of his jutsu. The first thing that came to his mind was Shikamaru's shadow style techniques that were meant to keep an opponent immobile. Could this guy have something along the same lines as his teammate? Somehow he doubted it, but he wasn't going to give him the chance to use it against him.

Without another word, Misumi leapt forward at Naruto with both of his arms outstretched. Naruto though calmly jumped backwards to keep the distance between him and his opponent. Alright…so this guy needed to get close to him for his jutsu to work apparently. If he didn't need to, then he wouldn't have charged at him like that. If he could just keep his distance, he would probably be fine. The only problem was that Naruto was a close range fighter himself. If he would want to get a good hit on him, he would have to dodge whatever jutsu Misumi had up his sleeve as well, which could prove difficult.

Naruto was swiftly propelled out of his thoughts though as his opponent let loose a barrage of shuriken and kunai right at him. Taking out one of the few kunai he had left in his weapons pouch, he dodged the vast majority of them while blocking the remaining projectiles with his own weapon. As soon as he hit the ground, he was shocked to find that his opponent burst forward with newly revealed speed. Ducking under the first swipe, he had to hastily raise his own weapon in defense against the assault to keep his own head and organs in place.

Without warning, Naruto's seal on the back of his neck erupted in pain, causing him to let out a small outcry while still trying to hold back his opponent. His opponent seemed to notice his sudden pause, taking advantage of the situation by hitting Naruto's loosely gripped kunai out of his grasp and across the room. Naruto didn't even see the next blow coming until it had already connected to his jaw. The force behind the strike was enough to propel him across the room. He plopped on the ground with a loud thud, tasting blood as he finally skidded to a halt.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru yelled, gripping the railing and leaning forward, looking as if ready to jump to Naruto's aid at a moment's notice. He watched attentively as his teammate and friend slowly raised back to his feet, though he did seem slightly shaky as he rose. Shikamaru had been worried about this. He had noticed the clear signs that Sasuke's own seal had been giving him trouble during his own match, and now the same thing was happening to Naruto. The whole problem was that there was no specific pattern to the bursts of pain or even what triggered the pain. It was completely spontaneous, almost as if it had a mind of its own to activate at the worst possible moment. To make matters worse, it didn't seem like this guy Naruto was facing was fooling around. It was obvious that near every one of his attack were made with the intent to kill. That was apparent at the moment he took out his kunai and other weapons.

Shikamaru couldn't help but slam his fist down on the railing in frustration, his sudden violent emotions surprising Choji beside him. This was just unfair. Not only was this guy bigger, faster, and almost undoubtedly stronger than Naruto, but he was even given an unfair handicap with Naruto's seal causing him trouble.

_Just put your pride aside for once for once, Naruto,_ Shikamaru thought gritting his teeth. _You're in no condition to fight this guy right now. We've gotten this far already, just get out of here while you still can…_

Of course, he knew perfectly well that Naruto would sooner give up a week's supply of free ramen than give up a match after Sasuke had won with the same conditions weighing him down. _Maybe_ a month'sworth of ramen, but not a week's. Now it seemed like all Shikamaru could hope for now was for a miracle. He was beginning to wonder though if he and his team had run out of miracles after everything that had happened in the Forest of Death.

Back at the main level, Naruto had finally regained his composure and wiped the blood that had begun to run down his lip, which he might add, now felt twice as large as it had before.

"Not done already, are you Naruto-san?" Misumi asked snidely as he began to circle around Naruto slowly.

"Don't talk to me like you know me." This guy was really starting to wear on his last nerves.

"Oh, but I know so much more about you than you could possibly realize," Misumi said, suddenly charging forward with his kunai raised in front of him once more. Naruto leapt aside to dodge the first swipe, though he could tell instantly that there had hardly seemed to be any effort at all behind the attack.

"You were put into isolation from the moment of your birth," Misumi said in a whisper that only Naruto could hear, continuing his halfhearted attacks. "By the age of four you were living on your own in a run down apartment that you were only allowed in by order of the Hokage himself. You were constantly looked down upon by adults and classmates alike, prejudging you as a monster before you could even utter two words."

"Shut up!" Naruto shouted back. He nimbly ducked under a vertical kunai swipe and crouched down, catching his opponent by surprise. With a mighty yell, he leapt back upward and delivered a hard uppercut right into Misumi's jaw, sending him spiraling backwards.

"Kage Bushin no-!" He stopped mid way through his jutsu as pain once again erupted from his seal. He cursed under his breath as he had no choice but to watch one of his best opportunities for victory slip away, waiting once again for the pain to die down.

"Not bad kid," Misumi said, chuckling slightly as he wiped his mouth underneath his veil. Not bad at all, in fact. Though there was no doubt that Misumi currently had the upper hand in the battle, his opponent was surprisingly able to hold his own against him even with the seal affecting him. No wonder Orochimaru-sama had such interest in him. But that was the problem. If he lost now to this kid, he would probably forever be viewed as a useless pawn to his master, and most pawns underneath Orochimaru's command tended to have short life spans. Not that Misumi viewed himself as anything more than a pawn as of now anyways.

Misumi was not a stupid man. He and his partner, Yoroi, have been teammates ever since they were children. They complemented each other's strengths, and if one of them lacked in a certain area of expertise, the other would make up for it in ten fold. Misumi was the strategist of the two. Though he perhaps wasn't as strong as his partner was, he was considered by many to be the more ruthless of the two, and for that reason he is usually given the dirty work when something needed to get done.

At the moment, Misumi was actually seriously considering the option of just killing the boy right then and there and be done with it. He had to admit, he had no intention of remaining a pawn throughout this game Orochimaru was playing. And wiping out this potential future vessel could very well bring him closer to his ultimate desired position…a spot above even the legendary Sanin himself. He knew that Orochimaru was infamous for his "tests" to see if someone was worthy to serve him or not. Would he view this boy's death as another failed experiment and shift his focus more onto the other two instead? To completely honest, the answer was illusive even to him. He was fully aware that he was taking a risk by even taking part in this match in the first place. But sometimes the reward was worth the risk that came with it. That was his firm belief, another issue that he and Yoroi didn't always share the same opinion on. Yoroi was always about taking careful precautions to assure a success in the mission. Misumi preferred to go for an opening when he saw one and take advantage of it, even when the outcome was not always clear. It was time to show his partner which of the two of them was the right one.

Without even saying another word, Misumi charged forward once more at Naruto, forcing the blonde to back flip out of the way to dodge the older man's assault. With each punch and kick thrown, Naruto watched as each strike continued to come closer and closer to hitting its mark. This was not good at all. His body still hadn't recovered completely from when the seal had activated. It was all he could do to just keep standing, let alone dodge or even plan a counter attack!

Dodging to the right one more time, Naruto took out from his weapons pouch behind him three shuriken and threw them at Misumi, though his opponent sidestepped the projectiles with ease and was charging at Naruto once again a moment later. Naruto was caught by surprise as his opponent suddenly leapt into the air, brought back his leg, and delivered a devastating roundhouse kick right to the side of Naruto's head.

"Ouch, I'd be surprised if he got up after that one," Kiba said rubbing his neck gingerly where the line of red from Ino's wire still remained.

"No kidding," Choji said back with a nod.

"Nah, he's not out yet," Shikamaru said back confidently. "Naruto's too stubborn too lose that quickly. Don't worry, he'll come back and win this thing."

Kiba gave a loud snort at this, bringing Shikamaru's lazy stare over to him. "I don't know what match you're watching, but it looks to me that Naruto is basically getting his ass handed to him. What makes you think that he's going to win?"

"Honestly, because he's that damn troublesome of a person," Shikamaru said back without a hint of anger in his voice. "Trust me. If either Sasuke or Hinata were still here, they'd probably say the same thing. Well…to some extent. That kid just doesn't know how to give up. No matter what challenge he faces, no matter how bad things get, he always springs back up and pulls something out of his ass to get the job done."

"Doesn't sound like the Naruto I remember from the academy," Kiba replied back.

"You don't' have to take my word for it. Just sit back and watch and you'll see what I mean."

Just as he was saying this, Naruto was finally able to rise to his feet and regain his balance once again. He wasn't surprised to find that he was now plagued with a painful headache and was at the same time still pretty dazed. Yet despite these hindrances, he wobbly stood erect in front of his opponent.

"Why don't you just give up already?" Misumi asked as he prepared himself for yet another attack.

Naruto shook the dizziness out of his head and was respond back sarcastically when he unexpectedly stiffened as yet another spasm of pain rippled through his body. Now he was _really _starting to get pissed off. This seal had a habit of reacting at the worst possible time for him, and the harder he tried to overcome the pain the more powerful the pain becomes. This would be hard against any opponent, but now he had to face this guy who seemed to have something out for him. There had to be an easier way to do this…

Naruto carefully took a slow step to his side but stopped when he felt his foot fall on something below him. Looking down, he found that he had stepped on a rather large piece of grayish brown wood. When his eyes locked onto it though, his entire body froze. But this time it wasn't because of his seal. This time, something else had hit him, this time a realization. Suddenly, Naruto's face twisted into a fierce look of determination as he looked back at his opponent.

_To hell with it all,_ Naruto thought to himself, already gathering his chakra. _Hinata fought half of her match with poison running through her. And Sasuke was able to pull off his match also with the same conditions that I'm in. It's time to stop wishing that things could be different and suck it up. If those two can pull through, then damn it so can I._

Naruto raised both of his hands up and formed his trademark cross shaped seal. Immediately, pain rushed though his entire body, but he ignored it as he continued to gather chakra for his technique. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" he shouted loudly. From behind him fifteen more Narutos suddenly appeared, all with the same seal as the original.

"Th-there's no way!" Misumi took a step back as he witnessed how many opponents he now faced. How was this possible? There should be no way that a kid could pull off this, a Jonin level technique, with such proficiency. The seal was supposed to make even the simplest of jutsus near impossible to perform. Just who the hell is this kid?!

"It's time to stop playing around!" each of the blonde ninjas shouted at once, each of them taking a step forward. "I hope that you've been holding back up until now, because things are about to get serious!" Suddenly, five of the front kage bushins charged Misumi all at once, three of them charging from the front while two others circled to the side to get behind.

The masked shinobi easily dodged one of the clone's attacks and quickly kicked another away and caused it to poof out of existence. Next came two more clones that tried to double team Misumi at the same time, but the man sidestepped one and caught the other by the wrist, destroying both of them by launching one at the other. This next time though, all the remaining clones that had not been destroyed all charged at once. Misumi immediately prepared himself for the attack, but paused when he suddenly realized that instead of attacking, each one of them had merely surrounded him and just stopped, getting just close enough so that they were out of reach of a punch of his.

Misumi continued to watch warily the crowd of black clad blonde shinobis that had surrounded him, preparing to defend himself at a moments notice. Instead of attacking though, all of them flashed simultaneous wide and mischievous grins, though not forgetting to give him the bird as well. "See you later," all of them said at once, and then suddenly disappeared. As soon as the clones exploded out of existence, Misumi realized his opponent's plan. When the clones had disappeared, all of them had ended up leaving behind a small amount of smoke. Added to the fact that they had all been so close to him and packed together made it so that he couldn't even see what was even two feet in front of him.

A startled gasp escaped from him as the smoke in front of him abruptly cleared away, revealing Naruto in front of him as well as the green wind that had begun to surround his hand. He had already heard about this technique from Kabuto from when he had watched the boy's "fight" with Orochimaru-sama. And just by the description of the attack alone, it was _not _something that Misumi wanted to deal with.

"Eat this!" Naruto shouted, biting back even more pain than ever. "Futon: Oshi Heki no Jutsu!" Pulling back his fist even further, he put every ounce of strength he had into this one punch. He watched almost as if in slow motion as his fist drew closer and closer to Misumi, and because of that he was able to witness all that occurred next. Misumi's body suddenly _twisted_ out of the way of his attack. The man didn't even move his legs. It was as if his body had become a big piece of taffy or something and just twisted out of the way! Caught by surprise, he was too slow to get away from his opponent. The man twisted his body even further and shockingly wrapped completely around Naruto, twisting both of his arms several times around Naruto's own as well as his legs doing the same thing. It didn't help either that one of the arms had reached back to his neck and now wrapped around it two times, making even the smallest of breaths difficult to make.

"Well, this is disgusting," Naruto grunted. So this was what he had meant when had said "ensnared". A moment later he let out a gargled cry in pain as Misumi tightened his hold around Naruto. It felt as though two giant boulders had suddenly been put on both sides of each of Naruto's legs and arms, squeezing him together on both sides.

"Not so tough now, are you?" the man asked in Naruto's ear. "This is my special ability, be honored that I actually had to resort to it in our battle. I am able pop all my bones out of their sockets at will. After that, I can use my chakra reshape my body in any way I please."

"Like I said before, disgusting," Naruto repeated again as it became more and more difficult for him to breathe.

"Maybe you should reconsider being so cocky," Misumi whispered menacingly, squeezing harder than ever. "I could break your neck with just a simple twitch of my muscles. And don't think you would be the first one that has died in this jutsu. I know fully well what it's like to watch life slowly drain from another's eyes…of course, so do you."

Everything around Naruto came to an abrupt halt. The memories of his fight in the Forest of Death once again began to wash over him. The time when he had given into his own rage and let himself become taken over by his own feral instincts…the vacant and lifeless stare of that Ame nin had worn when Naruto was finished with his attack…

"How do you-"

"I know more than you realize, Uzumaki Hyuuga Naruto," Misumi whispered one more time in his ear. "It's a pity that we couldn't have met under different circumstances. Who knows? In another reality, we might have become partners fighting for the same cause. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. Good bye, Uzumaki Hyuuga Naruto…"

Fear once again welled up inside of Naruto, now more than ever. He frantically began struggling to break out of Misumi's grasp. He couldn't die here! He still had to become Hokage! He still needed to prove to the village he wasn't just some monster! He still…he…

Everything suddenly went dark around Naruto. He suddenly realized that his hitae-ate had fallen from his forehead and covered his eyes. Slowly though, it continued to slip down his face until the tie binding it to his head finally became undone, causing it to fall on the ground. A moment later, he heard a sharp clank as it hit the stone floor he stood on, and then he truly did see only darkness…

* * *

Naruto's eyes snapped open as he leapt up from the floor, looking around for his opponent. He was surprised to find though that instead of being in the tower where he had been battling for his life, he was now in a gigantic, rusted red room at the end of some kind of hallway by the looks of it. The floor beneath him was wet. Looking up, he spotted several pips running along the ceiling, many of them still leaking down from various cracks and onto the damp floor. He noticed next that the room seemed to unusually warm, as if he was standing dangerously close to a fire or something. It wasn't a feeling Naruto could say that he especially enjoyed.

Turning his head slightly to look around more, he froze as he caught his first glance at what was behind him from the corner of his eye. Slowly, he spun around and looked up, only now noticing the gigantic cage that had been behind him the entire time. The cage was larger than most of the buildings in the village. It looked bigger than even the academy that he had attended! The two bared doors came together in the very center, though they were not held together by any latch or lock whatsoever. Instead, there was a small and seemingly insignificant piece of paper connecting the two, barely bigger than his hand. On it was the symbol for "seal", and the sides had become crinkled slightly and one corner seemed slightly burned. Taking a couple steps forward, he slowly laid his hand on the paper.

He drew back suddenly as he caught something shift from behind the bars. He took a couple steps back, but then reconsidered as he slowly began to step forward, trying to get a better view of what was inside…

Naruto let out a frightened yell as a deafening roar boomed throughout the room, the force of it so strong that it blew him off his feet and several yards backwards. From out of the darkness, Naruto could see a dark, gigantic figure slam itself up against the caged door repeatedly, trying to break out of its prison. The metal doors creaked and bent, quivering at every single strike that was made against it. A couple of times, Naruto began to worry that the seal would rip; releasing whatever was trapped behind the gigantic bars. Yet the doors held, not yielding under its ferocious attacks. Eventually, the cage stopped shaking and Naruto could hear deep and perhaps even angry breaths coming from the other side of the cage.

"**It's ironic. The one moment that you are closest to me, the one moment where I can truly make you suffer, all that stands between me and my vengeance is a small piece of paper…**"

Naruto's mouth dropped open in shock as two gigantic eyes that were even larger than he was opened in front of him as well as a long row of white, jagged teeth. To his surprise though, the teeth were not what Naruto was transfixed on. Instead, it was the creature's eyes beyond the cage. He had seen those same eyes before, when he had looked at his reflection in a small puddle during his battle with Haku. When he had given into the Kyuubi's power…

"**What is wrong, child?**" the creature from behind the cage growled as a low rumble sounded from behind the cage which Naruto guessed to be a chuckle of some kind. "**Does meeting me truly strike such terror in your soul? I wouldn't doubt it. All I wish is the chance to torture you just as you have tortured me…Now tell me, what reason do you have to meet with me, the great and mighty Kyuubi-sama?**"

For a moment, Naruto just stood there speechless, too frightened to say anything. Shockingly though, his anger slowly had begun to die. Instead, a new emotion had begun to arise within him. This time though, it was anger. "Great and mighty Kyuubi…? …Torture?" Naruto asked, rising to his feet and looking at the giant creature from behind the cage right in its eyes. "You're blaming me for _your _torture? Don't even start giving me that load of bull! Because you attacked this damn village, I grew up with people hating me and I didn't even know why the hell they did! If I hadn't met Iruka-sensei, Sasuke, or Hinata-chan, I'd have probably gone crazy! And that day when I was fighting Haku…you manipulated me! You're nothing but a damned hypocrite!"

"**How dare you!**" the giant fox from behind the cage roared in rage, but this time Naruto didn't budge from his spot. "**How dare **_**you**_**, a mere human, speak to me with such insolence?! I am the Kyuubi, mightiest of all the Great Demons and the most powerful being to have ever come into existence! None shall speak to me in such a manner! And you forget, I did not force my power upon you. I graciously offered it to you as a gift!**"

"…You're right that I did accept that power of yours willingly, but only because I didn't know what it did to me. But you are dead wrong on something else. You aren't the most powerful being in existence," Naruto said coldly, though a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "The Yondaime was the strongest that had ever lived. That's why you're the one behind those bars, and I'm the one over on this side free and still alive."

A mightier roar than ever before shook the entire room as the Kyuubi once again ravaged at his cage's door. His claws ripped at it and tried to reach at Naruto through the bars and he bit savagely at each of the bars, but Naruto did not move an inch as he continued to watch the Kyuubi's futile attempts at freedom. This went on for a little while longer until the Demon Fox made one last mad charge at the door. Again, the doors buckled at the extreme strain they were under, yet still held strong. Finally, the Kyuubi angrily stared at Naruto from behind his bars, his teeth bared in a furious snarl.

"…I want to know," Naruto spoke up when he realized the fox was finally finished, "what happens to you if I die?"

A moment or two passed as Naruto and the Kyuubi continued to stare at the other with near equal scorn. "**It's not as much of a matter of if you die. It's **_**when**_** you die isn't it?**" the Demon finally spoke from behind his cage."**You humans perform such a wonderful ruse of ignorance by avoiding that fact for so long throughout your pathetically short lifetimes. So, to answer your question properly, **_**when**_** you die**, **I shall die as well.**"

Naruto saw that the Kyuubi was trying to unnerve him, but he did not back down. "Alright then, you damn fox. You may be a pain in the ass…but you have a lot of chakra. Just like you said before, when I fought Haku you gave me some of your power, right?"

"**That's right, though once again I remind you that you foolishly turned away my generous gift that day…**"

"Shut up, you were trying to manipulate me and you know it. Even so…I'm in a real jam back in this match I'm fighting. This seal on my neck is causing trouble also," he said pointing at the back of his neck. For the first time, the Kyuubi seemed to become interested in what Naruto had to say. His already enormous eyes grew even wider as he motioned to his seal. "And by the looks of things, he doesn't seem to really like me breathing right now. So if you don't want to die as much as I don't want to right now, why don't you give up some of that chakra for me to use?"

There was a moment of silence between the two as they continued to stare at each other. Finally, the same deep chuckle as before arose from the Kyuubi. "**You have a lot of guts asking me for such a favor after that little speech you just pulled. But what you say is true…fine. I'll give you some of my chakra. As a bonus to your bravery, I'll even supress the Cursed Seal's affects in the same manner that I keep your Caged Bird Sea in check. This seal is a little more complicated than the one the Hyuugas placed upon you, so I won't be able to hold off the effects for long. Just be sure to finish your battle quickly."**

"Fine, but I don't want anymore of this manipulation stuff," Naruto warned this time. "I have enough crap to deal with right now so I'd appreciate it if you'd keep to yourself and not cause me any trouble."

"**Such foolishness to decline the infinite wisdom that I can bestow upon you…but as you wish. Now, just be sure not to get yourself killed just yet, Naruto."**

From within the cage where the Kyuubi was held, several tendrils of red chakra suddenly shot forth from the darkness, ensnaring Naruto. He let out a startled gasp as the chakra began to grip him, reminding him just a little too well of just how dangerous his situation was outside of his mind still remained. Slowly though, he began to feel the chakra seep into his body, filling his entire body with power.

Then, once again, everything around Naruto slowly began to grow blurry and dim, little by little. Eventually, Naruto was once again enveloped into darkness, with nothing but the cold rumbling of the Kyuubi's chortle ringing in his ears.

* * *

Misumi grunted scornfully at Naruto as he watched the blonde's head droop slowly, then finally hang loosely as he closed his eyes. How pathetic. The kid had fainted in fright, so unbefitting of a shinobi, even for a Genin from the weak hearted village of Konohakagure. Misumi could no longer see why he had been so concerned about this boy's "potential" earlier. He was nothing more than a weak coward. There was no need for Orochimaru to bother with this failure.

"Naruto!" Shikamaru yelled down to the main level in fear, trying to reawaken his teammate.

Still, it wasn't too late to just end the boy's life right now, if nothing more than as a precaution. If killing him as a threat to both him and Orochimaru didn't justify his actions, he could merely do it as a small favor to Konohakagure. Not that there would be any Konohakagure for long if Orochimaru had anything to do with it. Misumi began to prepare to tense his body to snap Naruto's neck, but suddenly stopped. A new feeling of dread had unexpectedly washed over him, coming out of nowhere. It was as if the very atmosphere around him had changed, like something foreboding had released itself from some unknown source.

Looking back down at his captive, he was shocked to find that from beneath his dark robes and even out of his very skin, red chakra slowly began to pool out over him. The foreboding aura bubbled and fizzed around his body, slowly engulfing more and more of Naruto as time continued to tick by.

Misumi suddenly let out a startled cry of pain as the mysterious red chakra made contact with his skin. It felt as though he had suddenly come into contact with hot metal. He hastily let go of Naruto and put distance between him and the young boy. He was shocked to find that his arms had become covered in burns, all around where he had been gripping Naruto. He could even spot some areas where his clothing had been scorched by the chakra. Looking back at Naruto, he then realized that the blonde had not dropped to the ground when he had let go of him. He continued to stand, his body slightly leaned forward and his arms drooped loosely to the side. Another startled yell escaped him as more chakra then seemed to explode from Naruto, forming a small vortex of red chakra around him as well as several red tendrils flew off in various directions.

"What the heck?" Kiba questioned in wonder, leaning forward on the railing in front of him to get a better look. He didn't notice that his mouth had drooped open in shock of what he was seeing.

Choji was only able to nod with agreement with a similar look of surprise and even a mixed amount of fear on his face as well. Sakura beside him didn't even say anything, taking a small step back as she continued to look watch the blonde on the first level. Shino on the other hand made no movement or made any reaction at all, not allowing his hazel eyes to stray away from Naruto. "Hey, Shikamaru, do you know what's going on?" Choji finally questioned, asking the question that all of his teammates were wondering and looking over at his long time childhood friend.

All three members of Team Ten looked over at Shikamaru in unison, and were shocked to see that the normally calm and dismissive Genin was looking more distressed than any of them had ever seen him in his life. "Something bad," Shikamaru replied darkly. He turned around to look at Kakashi, but found that instead that his sensei was no where to be found. Turning back around, he frantically looked for any sign of him. Finally, he shifted his attention to the side at where the Jonin and such were standing and spotted him. He was now with twenty other some Jonin and Chunin, all gathered around the Hokage, each of their eyes darting too and from Naruto and then back to Sarutobi. Shikamaru noticed that most of the younger looking members continued to stare at the group in bewilderment, not sure of what to make of the situation.

_What if they do something to stop him?_ Shikamaru suddenly wondered, looking back at Naruto. _What if they have to resort to stop him by force? _He hadn't been around to actually see what happened when Naruto had first tapped into this power, being too preoccupied with Zabuza at that time along with Kakashi-sensei, but he could still remember the dread that had filled inside of him when he had first saw that red chakra. But this time it was different in some way…though Shikamaru couldn't put his finger on just how.

Shikamaru's dark eyes suddenly darted back to Naruto as he saw the boy suddenly begin to move. Instead of standing straighter though, Naruto bent down and grasped his hitae-ate which still was on the floor. As he did so, the small typhoon of chakra around him slowly began to recede, though plenty of red chakra still remained around him, covering nearly his entire body. From this distance though, Shikamaru could still make out his cerulean blue eyes as Naruto straightened back up once again to stare headstrong straight at his opponent.

"You talk like you know me and know exactly how my life is going to turn out," Naruto said, taking a step forward toward Misumi and still gripping his hitae-ate in his hand. Shikamaru was able to catch out of the corner of his eye Misumi take a small step backwards with his right foot. "You think that you have _everything_ figured out. Well let me tell you something buddy, you're missing one key fact about me! And that Uzumaki…Hyuuga Naruto _never _gives up! Because in case you didn't know, I'm going to be Hokage some day!"

"Hokage?" Misumi laughed, though there was an edge of alarm in his voice as he continued to watch Naruto carefully. "Like anyone would even consider letting you become Hokage with what you are. If you need any further proof of how futile your 'dream' is, just look in a mirror and see that seal right there on your forehead! Why would anyone put someone under the control of another in charge of an entire village, let alone one of the great shinobi villages?! It's impossible! You're dream is nothing more than a delusion!"

"Impossible is a word that quitters use to make themselves feel better after they've given up," Naruto said back as his smile continued to grow. Raising his hitae-ate back to his forehead, he repositioned it in its intended spot, tightening it more than ever. "I don't care about the rules. I don't give a damn about what the villagers have to say about anything. Just ask any teacher who's ever taught me back at the academy if you want proof. So no matter what, I swear that I'll become Hokage someday. Nothing is going to stop me! Not some stupid seal, not the biased citizens from this village that I'm someday going to protect, and least of all, not you!"

"There you go," Shikamaru said from the balcony, chuckling to himself. There wasn't a shadow of a doubt in his mind now that this was not the real and honest to goodness original Uzumaki Naruto. But something was different from before. No, not different. Something had _returned_. Physically Naruto was the same as he always has been, but the way he stood with his fists clenched and a large smile plastered on his face said otherwise. It was a stance that had disappeared not long after their departure from the Land of Waves that Shikamaru had not seen since. What exactly was it that had brought this side of Naruto back? Hell if he knew. But it was comforting none the less.

"So, are you ready this time bastard?! You better stop underestimating me, because this is where the real fight begins!"

Crouching down, Naruto dashed forward at Misumi, surprising himself at just how fast he was now. By the looks of his opponent's face, so was Misumi. The older Genin quickly twisted out of the way with his own unique ability. Spinning around as quickly as he could, he aimed a powerful left hook right at Misumi's head but was dodged nimbly and once again Naruto's opponent leapt back to put distance between the two.

The next thing Misumi knew, his adversary had disappeared. Mere instincts alone made him look up, seeing the still seemingly flame engulfed Naruto hovering high above him. Misumi quickly took out three kunai and threw each individually at Naruto toward the ceiling, but the first was skillfully caught and both others were blocked.

Naruto landed on the ground and breathed deeply, though he found that he was not in the least out of breath. If anything, he was actually _excited_. But it did not come from the sudden upper hand that he had gained after his discussion with the Kyuubi. Neither was it from how strong and rejuvenated his body now felt. No, instead, it was the _speed_ at which he had been going. The rush that he felt (no pun intended) while he was moving with such swiftness made him feel more alive than he had ever felt. It was an emotional high that he knew was somehow connected to his very soul, a side of him that he had never realized before.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on what he had gained with this new power. Right now, he needed to use it to win this match. Sheathing the kunai to his holster on his leg, he quickly once again formed the cross shaped hand sign with both hands. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" he yelled again, forming five more replicas around him.

Simultaneously, all six Naruto's rushed at Misumi with lighting like speed, quickly surrounding him. If it wasn't for Misumi's unique ability, he would have not even lasted the first barrage of attacks. Bending backwards as far as he could, he dodged the first clone and quickly snatched it by its wrist, using it as a living shield to block the punch from another clone and then destroying it with a retaliated punch of his own. Backing up once more so that he was facing each one of the four remaining Narutos remaining, he drew two more kunai in each hand and launched them at two of the clones. Again, both clones disappeared out of existence with a muffled poof, though two Narutos still remained, which meant that one of them must the original. The first Naruto charged at him from the front, but then disappeared suddenly in a blur of yellow and black. The punch that connected to the back of his head made him see stars all around him, though it was not enough to knock him unconscious. Spinning his body around, he saw only just in time the next punch that connected right between his eyes, snapping his glasses in two.

When Misumi finally stopped staggering backwards from the blow, his hand slowly went up to his face as he wiped the blood that had just be gun running out of his nose. Looking back at Naruto with a look of pure fury, he let lose a savage battle cry as he charged forward at the first Naruto in front of him. Caught off guard, the blonde Genin was not able to react in time before Misumi had his throat in his hand and slammed him on the ground, watching as the apparent Kage Bushin disappeared once again.

Hearing the footsteps of the last remaining Naruto behind him, Misumi twisted around the incoming attack and grabbed the boy by the shirt, pulling him backwards and down to the ground. Taking extra precaution to not make direct skin contact with Naruto, he threw him on the ground below him and placed a foot on the blonde's chest, drawing one last kunai and raising it above his head.

"Well? Any last words?!" Misumi shouted wildly.

Instead of looking at Misumi in fear, Naruto merely began to laugh while still being pinned down by Misumi. After seeing the look of bewilderment on his face though, Naruto finally pointed up past Misumi and up at the ceiling. With one hesitant look, he glanced over his shoulder and at the ceiling. The kunai that was in his hand dropped to the ground as he finally witnessed what was above him. Near forty more copies of Naruto stood connected to the ceiling, each one of them wearing the same hysterical smile as the one underneath Misumi's foot. The undercover Oto nin couldn't believe it. When the boy had produced his five Kage Bushins from before, he had actually made even more on the ceiling. A lot more. But that was impossible! Kage Bushins were meant to appear beside its creator and that was all! Only one who has perfected the jutsu through decades of training and experience could _choose_ the exact location that the bushins were to appear. Not to mention the amount of chakra to perform such a feat was unheard of. But here he was, facing that impossibility face to face…es.

While still in shock of what he had discovered above his head, Misumi had forgotten that he had been holding the original Naruto down with his foot. He nearly fell to the ground as Naruto rolled away and darted off to the side of the room.

"Katon: Ryuuseiu no Jutsu!" a thunderous shout came from above him from each and ever Naruto that was above him. Looking back up, Misumi watched as half of the Naruto's finished with their own hand seals while the other half patiently waited for them to finish. Suddenly, one of the clones grabbed another by its arms, and with a loud grunt that filled the entire room, he threw the clone as hard as he could at Misumi. Misumi never in a million years would have expected what occurred next. The clone suddenly burst into flames, still plummeting right towards him. He quickly leapt out of the way just seconds before the flaming projectile completely destroyed where he had just been standing. Glancing over his shoulder at the ruined remains of the floor where the clone had hit, he realized that if he had been hit by the attack that would be the end of everything for him.

Looking back up to the ceiling, his eyes widened even wider as he saw three more fireballs plunging right towards him. Again, he dodged out of the way of the three attacks, the fireballs laying waste to where they made contact with the ground. All at once more fireballs than ever suddenly began showering down from above him. He hastily continued to dart around the room, evading every single fireball that was coming toward him, each one coming closer and closer to hitting its mark. Every time one of the doppelgangers were finished throwing one of their own clones down at Misumi, they would either move onto the next clone or begin forming seals of their own. The cycle they had formulated was as deadly as it was efficient. How could this kid devise this effective of a strategy in such a short time?

Just as the last fireball hit the ground, Misumi took a moment to inspect his surroundings and froze in astonishment. While he had been dodging the shower of fireballs the entire time, he hadn't noticed that he was slowly but surely becoming boxed in. He was completely surrounded by flames. There was no way out, no path for escape. Had it really been that kid's intention to hit him, or had he only been trapping him in to cut off any escape the entire time? Just who the hell was this kid anyways! He was supposed to be the class loser of his academy class! He was supposed to be the shunned student that all the teachers had ignored! He was supposed to be the weakling, not him!

"Like I said before, don't you dare _ever_ underestimate me!" a loud voice sounded from over Misumi's head. Looking back up, he saw three more Narutos still above him. Grabbing one of the blonde Genins by the wrists, two of the three copies threw down one of the clones right at him.

Misumi suddenly realized that if he was to escape, he would have to leap over the flames. But that would mean that he would have to face the boy in mid air…but he wasn't going to lose that easily!

"Come on, kid!" he yelled savagely, hurdling himself into the air and at the boy. Just before he reached Naruto, he drew out one last kunai and launched it toward him, catching him right between the eyes. Misumi didn't even have time to smile underneath his mask in triumph before this last clone disappeared as well, leaving only a small cloud of smoke behind. Not a second later, another Naruto appeared once again, but this time with a spiral aura of green wind twisting with the red chakra formed around his fist.

For a moment, the two opponents just hung in mid air gazing at each other, completely silent. "Game over," Naruto finally said, pulling back his fist. "Futon: Oshi Heki no Jutsu!"

The blow came so fast that Misumi wasn't even able to see exactly when the boy threw his punch, but he sure as hell felt it. He cried out in agony as his stomach felt as if it was being torn by a thousand small daggers. Though they did not sink in far enough to cause serious or life threatening damage, they were enough to cause a hell of a lot of pain. All of a sudden, he was propelled back down to the ground at an even greater speed than when he leapt up into the air. He watched incredulously Naruto's figure become rapidly smaller and smaller as the distance between the two widened and then his body hit the floor at full force, this time causing everything around him to go dark.

Just as Misumi slipped into unconsciousness, Naruto landed on the ground with his back toward his opponent. "I told you that I wouldn't lose this match. I've gone through too much crap in the last week to be stopped right here. I will continue on in this exam to make Chunin, and I'm never going to give up my dream on becoming Hokage. I've forgotten recently just how much that dream means to me…and you helped remind me. Even though you sure as hell never meant to help me…thanks for helping me remember."

Naruto was caught off guard as he suddenly collapsed onto his knees, holding his neck once again in pain. All at once, the red chakra that engulfed him all swirled violently around him until forming back to where his hand was placed over his seal. Almost too quickly for anyone to notice, the chakra seeped its way underneath Naruto's hand and disappeared.

Naruto looked up quickly as he heard footsteps coming toward him. He found though that these steps were coming from the sickly proctor, who seemed to have gone into temporary shock at what he had just seen. Shaking his head though, Hayate bent down and put a hand up to the motionless man's neck. He had a pulse. So this kid had made sure to keep him alive after all. He realized now that Naruto was indeed different from this man, just as he had said. He had never been an avid believer that the kid would ever accomplish anything great with the stigma that he had inherited from the villagers. Now, after this match, he knew fully well that this kid just didn't give a damn what he should do. This kid was going to go far. Really far, no doubt about it.

"The winner of the match," Hayate said, motioning towards the blonde at his side, "is Uzumaki Hyuuga Naruto."

"That was frickin' amazing!" Kiba yelled, punching his fist in the air enthusiastically and apparently forgetting completely that he and Naruto had never really gotten along. He alone though seemed to have found words to actually comment on what had just happened. Everyone else had completely fallen silent, dumbstruck at witnessing the amazing display of talent that their former "failure" of a classmate had just performed.

With a pleased smile and chuckle at the praise, Naruto tried to raise himself to his feet, but failed miserably as he began to fall to the floor again. He halted just as he felt something strong grab him by the arm and supported him up. Though already knowing who was beside him, he smiled weakly up at his sensei that was beside him, who wore the same content smile as his student wore.

"Nicely done, Naruto. I knew you could do it. Though I do admit, you did have me worried there for a second," Kakashi said with a chuckle.

"Ah, I had him right where I wanted him the whole time," the Genin said back, giving his sensei a thumbs up with his free arm. "You should know more than anybody how much of a stubborn ass I can be."

"So the boy was able to pull off the win after all," Ibiki said from where he stood beside the Hokage, one of the few who were still capable of speech. "The kid knows his stuff." The elder man beside him nodded in agreement, though he knew that the comment was a severe understatement considering what the boy had just pulled off. Anko on the other hand did not comment, instead bringing her hand up to the rope necklace that she was wearing, fiddling with it in her hands semiconsciously.

"I believe it may be about time to have ourselves a break," Sarutobi said glancing over at Anko.

For a moment, the kunoichi just stared at the Sanidame before nodding back in understanding. "Okay maggots!" Anko suddenly yelled, causing several of the less prepared Genin to nearly jump out of their skins from the sudden outcry. "We're having ourselves a fifteen minute break! So go take a piss and get back here right away!"

Sarutobi let out a small sigh due to Anko's…unique choice of words, but he knew that there were more important matters to deal with at the moment than lessons on proper etiquette

With one last nod towards the lead examiners in turn, the Hokage took his leave of the two, but did not quite yet approach Naruto. Instead, he stepped off to the side and approached the only man who was not talking intently to another about either the shocking conclusion of the match or the strange chakra that they had sensed. Instead, Hyuuga Hizashi stood silently, watching Naruto at a distance. When Sarutobi drew closer, he was taken aback to find upon closer inspection that the man was actually smiling at Naruto. The Hokage had enough wisdom though to distinguish that it was not just of satisfaction. The man's seemingly cold, blank eyes seemed to shine proudly with a tinge of worry, sadness, and perhaps even mourning. Heaving a sigh, Sarutobi took the last steps forward until he was right up to Hizashi. It was only until he was only a few feet away from him that Hizashi finally turned his gaze from Naruto.

"He did well," Sarutobi said commendably. "You should be proud of him. He's obviously learned much from you during his time at the Hyuuga compound."

"What I've personally taught to Naruto is only a fraction of what he's learned from others on his team," Hizashi stated respectfully. "The rest of Naruto's skill has derived from both practicing with his comrades and his own fierce will of determination." As the man continued to speak, Sarutobi could see the sense of loss grow more and more within the proud leader of the Hyuuga clan.

"He possesses a Will of Fire that shines brighter than any I've seen for a long time…He is like him in that way," Sarutobi finally said.

A moment passed as both elite shinobi remained silent, both of them lost in their own thoughts. "You're right," Hizashi responded back with a small nod.

With a similar nod back, Sarutobi motioned for Hizashi to follow him. Though the man seemed surprised by this sudden command, he did not hesitate to follow. Turning his back to Hizashi, he began his way toward the middle of the large room where Naruto and Kakashi still stood. As the Hokage approached though, the proud smile that had been plastered on his face while he gazed at Naruto diminished by the slightest bit. It was not difficult to figure out that the chakra that had radiated from Naruto's body was not of any human's. It was different, dark, and sent a chill up even his spine. Even the youngest of Chunins who were old enough to still recall the Kyuubi's attack probably recognized the foreboding chakra. Has Naruto actually mastered control over the fox? Or was something else afoot? Not to mention what had happened afterwards. He had not allowed the red chakra seeping into Naruto's seal slip by unnoticed. He wasn't sure of what to make of it; he didn't even know if it was even a bad thing. But if his experience as a Hokage has taught him anything, it is that sometimes it's better to presume the worst than be caught off guard in foolish optimism.

Finally, Naruto looked up and saw Sarutobi and Hizashi approaching him. He quickly shrugged his sensei off of him and stood up straight and proud for the Sandaime. Sarutobi once again felt his smile widen at the boy's sheer will. Ever since he was a small child, Naruto would always act more cool and independent when he was around. Perhaps it was just another way to prove that he wasn't just a child with delusions of grandeur in mind. It was a way to prove that he was strong, that he would be able to fulfill the role of Hokage someday, and each day that passes by Sarutobi became surer that he was correct. Then again, though the boy's cerulean eyes stared right at him, Naruto also glanced every now and again at Hizashi just behind him. His gaze would only fall on him for but a second though and then it would fall back to Sarutobi. Perhaps it was his determination to not show weakness in front of his new clan leader that prompted this show of resolve.

"You did well, Naruto," the Hokage said placing a firm, yet also comforting hand onto Naruto's shoulder. "You're sensei must be proud of you indeed."

"Eh, he did alright," Kakashi said with a shrug. Looking over to Hizashi, he gave the man a silent nod in greeting which was returned back in the same manner.

"Alright?!" Naruto yelled, spinning around to face the silver haired Jonin. "What the hell do you mean I did alright?! I just got done fighting for my life and pulled out every move you taught me to get through that fight, and all you can say is 'eh'!?!"

"Calm down, Naruto. It was a joke," Kakashi said waving his hand at his student, though was at the same time impressed of how animated (and loud) his student was after such a heated battle. Turning his head away from the Genin, Kakashi looked back at Sarutobi seriously with his one visible eye. "The room that I prepared for Sasuke's sealing is still intact, though you may want to make some minor adjustments for Naruto's…unique case. Are planning on performing the sealing now?"

"Sealing?" Naruto asked, looking at each of the experienced shinobi in turn before him. Hizashi also seemed to have become equally as interested in the conversation as Naruto.

"Yes, the sooner the better," the Sarutobi replied back. Turning back to Naruto, he gave him reassuring smile when he saw the boy's slightly concerned expression. "Don't worry about a thing, Naruto. It's nothing more than a simple sealing jutsu that shouldn't take more than a couple moments to complete. Unfortunately though, you will not be able to see the last three matches."

"What?!" Naruto said in dismay. There were still three more matches left, and one of them was going to be Shino's. He had been looking forward to seeing how he compared to his unforeseen new friend that he had made during the second exam.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but this needs to take priority. You'll learn what's next for the exam in time. But for now, let's get going," Sarutobi said, once again placing a hand onto Naruto's shoulder and leading him toward the exit. Turning back, he once again motioned to have Hizashi follow him.

Looking back, he warily eyed Hizashi from behind his shoulder. "…Why is Hizashi-sama coming with?"

"It's just as a precaution," Sarutobi replied calmly. "Not to mention that if I'm to return to the exam before it is finished, I'll need someone else to take you to the hospital."

"Hospital!" Naruto halted and shouted in dismay, looking at the two men who were leading him out. Sarutobi just chuckled humorously before reassuring Naruto that it was only to make sure that everything was okay.

Before leading the room, he looked back once more at the upper level. From there, both Shikamaru and Shino stared after him with similar looks of puzzlement and a small hint of concern. Smiling, Naruto flashed the two the thumbs up sign before he turned back toward the door and dishearteningly made his way toward the exit.

"Hey, Old Man," Naruto said, looking back the Hokage beside him. "Are you sure it's okay for you to just skip out on the next matches? Kakashi was gone for a pretty long time when he took Sasuke. Wouldn't it look bad if you didn't make it back in time?"

"Oh, I almost forgot," Sarutobi said, halting in mid step and forming a seal with both hands that Naruto recognized immediately. A moment later, an exact replica of the Sandaime stood beside the original and turned to make its way back into the room. "A handy tip about Kage Bushins," the Hokage said down to Naruto. "Though they often are utilized in combat, they can also be used as a means of gathering information. Upon its destruction, any and all memories that it received are relayed back to its creator. It's important to know each and every use a jutsu may have for an experienced shinobi."

To his surprise, instead of looking up at the Hokage impressively, Naruto instead gazed at him with a look of speculation. "Sounds to me…that this isn't the first time that you've gotten out of doing something with a Kage Bushin…"

For a moment, the two just looked at each other in complete silence. From out of the the corner of his eye, Sarutobi could spot Hizashi grinning suspiciously at him. As time continued to pass, the Hokage finally lifted his hand up to his mouth and made an awkward cough. "There have been times where I was needed else where or needed to attend to business of my own, so I-"

"I knew it," Naruto said as both he and Hizashi began to chortle together. Naruto realized that it was probably the first time either of them had shared the same opinion on something together. "You shouldn't be such a slacker, old man."

"And you should learn to respect your elders!" the Hokage finally shouted back, causing Naruto to leap back in fear. "Now let's get going," he finally said this time and walking to the exit, though in a little more dignified manner. With one final glance between the two, Naruto and Hizashi both sighed in unison, then once again followed their Hokage down the hallway.

* * *

_Alright, I'll just cut it right here. I was hoping to get the entire Chunin prelims done by this chapter but Naruto's match ended up being so long anyways that I just decided to end it here (the fact that it's been such a long time since I've updated didn't help either)._

_If you want to thank something for the update, thank episodes 85 and 86 of Naruto Shippuden. It's been a long time since I've actually enjoyed watching Shippuden and right after I was done watching the episodes, I immediately brought up my story and started typing away. Not sure how the episodes and this chapter connected at all…but whatever! I think my FE PoR fic kind of helped too. Check it out if you're a Fire Emblem fan, I could always use the reviews. XD_

_Well, I'll say once more (and probably not the last time) that I'm sorry for the long update. I'll be sure to start writing the next chapter sooner than I did for this one and try to find more free time to write. Hopefully my inspiration will keep up. Anyways, thanks for reading, review, and see you all next time! And Happy Holidays to everyone!!!_

_GAZ_

_New original Jutsu:_

_Katon: Ryuuseiu no Jutsu- Fire Style: Meteor Shower Jutsu  
Basically the same idea with the Nagareboshi no Jutsu except in greater quantity (too lazy right now to make a well written description)._


	25. Prelims' Conclusion

_Alright, even I'm starting to get pissed at myself for the long updates. I'll go further into the issue at the end for anyone that cares. Anyways, here's perhaps my longest chapter yet to be posted on this site. I'm still waiting to get my beta'd one back (not his fault mind you, it's mostly mine) and I'll update it when I have the chance. For now, I hope that you enjoy this chapter._

"After you, Naruto," Sarutobi said, opening the door for the Genin. Looking back at the Hokage for just a second, Naruto complied and walked slowly into the dimly lit room. Though he knew that he had gone up stairs to get to this level, it looked more like a dungeon than the top floor of a great tower. There were no windows at all and the only source of light came from the open door behind him. As soon as Sarutobi and Hizashi walked in though, that too was shut and they were left in complete darkness.

For a moment, Naruto just stood silently, squinting through the darkness and trying to get a good look at his surroundings. When his eyes did finally adjust though, his heart felt as though it stopped in alarm. Another second later though, he was raggedly breathing again. He could now see the numerous columns that surrounded him, stretching too far off into the room for him to see where they ended. They had been going up stairs for a little while, so perhaps this was the roof. But this wasn't why he had become so shaken up. On the floor were two circles, one large one and another smaller one inside of it. Spread throughout the circle were various kunai stabbed into the floor, and drawn from the center of the circles were various kanjis, stretching out well past the circles…it reminded him all too much of the day that he had been branded with the Caged Bird Seal…when he had been "adopted" as a Hyuuga. Naruto could swear that he could suddenly feel an intense throbbing begin to pound in his head.

He started in surprise when he felt a hand fall on his shoulder. Looking back, he saw Sarutobi's gentle smile looking down at him, giving him an understanding nod and pat. Still looking at him, Naruto gulped down his fear and nodded back at the Hokage, slowly regaining the steady rhythm of his heart. When he had finally calmed down, Sarutobi gave another nod to Naruto and then walked past him to the seals on the ground.

"Kakashi prepared the sealing excellently," the Sanidaime said, walking around it and inspecting it. He turned his eyes back up once again and looked past Naruto and at Hizashi. "Forgive me if I am mistaken, but I presume you have a wide array of knowledge concerning sealing jutsu outside of your clan's own, am I wrong?" Naruto looked back to see Hizashi silently nod back at his Hokage. His eyes never fell onto Naruto. "Will you help me with the adjustments then?"

With another nod, Hizashi walked past Naruto, still not making eye contact and next to the Hokage. Naruto's eyebrows raised as both of them took from the folds of their robes a kunai each. Without even a moment's hesitation, they both cut into their left palms, squeezing the blood out for a small pool to form in their hands. Using their other hands, they dipped their fingers into the blood and slowly began to trace several seals into the floor, sometimes adding on and other times completely erasing one mark that had been there before. When the two of them were done, Sarutobi took a few moments to double check everything before giving a satisfied nod.

"Alright, Naruto, everything is almost ready," he said. "I'm going to have to ask you to take off your shirt though." Naruto nodded back, untying the sash around his waist and throwing the top half of his clothing to the side. "Now if you'll please sit in the middle of this circle, I'm going to have to make a few more seals on your own body as well…after I'm done, I'll be sure to take time to answer any questions that you might have."

Naruto walked over to the circle and obediently sat down in its center. Sarutobi once again squeezed some blood out of the wound on his hand and forced it to slowly drip down his finger. Walking behind Naruto, he quickly, but also carefully, began writing just as many kanjis down Naruto's body as he had on the floor. On a couple occasions, Naruto had to struggle to keep himself from laughing, specifically when he traveled down his right side. When he was done, the Hokage let out a long sigh and pulled out a bandage from within his robe, tying the wound around his hand.

"Well, now that we have that over with," he said sitting down beside Hizashi and across from Naruto, "we can finally take a moment to talk. So Naruto, if there is anything you want to ask about concerning the last week, I'm here to answer as many questions as I can."

"Um…What should I ask?" Naruto asked.

"Anything you want."

Anything? Well that was good. But he had so many questions he didn't have a clue where to start.

"Who…is Orochimaru?" Naruto finally said after a few more moments of silence.

To this question, Hizashi turned his blank eyes to the Hokage, who was gazing down at Naruto with a grim smile. "An excellent question to ask first, Naruto," the elderly man said approvingly, though he did not look any less sad than before. "Do you remember studying the Sannin in the academy?"

San-who?

"Uh…" Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, avoiding Sarutobi's gaze. "We…probably went over that during a day I was sk…wasn't at school."

A small chuckle escaped from the Hokage as he shook his head at Naruto. "Well," he began, taking off his large hat and putting it off to the side, "the Sannin are three extraordinarily talented shinobi who originate from Konohakagure. Before you were even born, they were once our village's first and also last line of defense. As a unit, there was hardly a sole person alive who would be able to match them in battle…Orochimaru is one of the Sannin."

"What?!" Naruto shouted in shock, his mouth agape. "B-but I fought him! Me, Sasuke, and Shino nearly defeated him. We nearly took him down!"

"I'm sorry, Naruto," the Sanidaime said grimly. "If you truly did fight Orochimaru, then the only reason why you or any of your friends are alive right now is because he wanted you to live. At one time, he was even considered to become my successor, the Yondaime of this village."

Naruto suddenly became so much more aware of every breath he was taking, every beat his heart made in his chest. He had fought one of the most powerful shinobi that have ever come out of Konoha, and he had survived. No…he had been let go.

A sudden crash seemed to shake the very foundations of the entire tower. Naruto started and began looking about him in fear, but stopped when both the Hokage and Hizashi only looked around with mild interest. When they both saw how startled Naruto had been, a small smirk appeared on both of their faces, causing Naruto to fold his hands in his lap and stare back embarrassedly.

"Sounds like the next match had already started," Sarutobi said, almost as if he was commenting about something as simple as the weather. "I suppose that we should hurry along with our conversation so I may make it down for the final match. Now Naruto, what would you like to know next?"

Naruto took a moment to think for a moment. He was slightly inclined to ask about his seal, but he couldn't let the subject of Orochimaru go with what little information he had. "What happened to him? Why did Orochimaru leave the village?"

"The story of the Sannin is not one with a happy ending," Sarutobi said, looking much more somber than Naruto expected after asking. It was as if every word he was speaking was causing him pain. "I will only include the parts which concern Orochimaru. As I said before, Orochimaru was one of the few shinobi who were considered for the title of Yondaime. He was known far and wide throughout the village as one of the best. He had completed more S Rank missions than anyone in the ANBU combined. Most of all, he was efficient. Every mission that he was assigned to was carried flawlessly. He never left a mission unfinished. No matter the costs."

"What do you mean, 'no matter the costs'?" Naruto asked.

"…Though Orochimaru was recognized as one of the best shinobi of not only our village, but of the entire world, he was also infamous for his callousness. For the majority of his missions, he worked alone. He commented once how it was easier to complete a mission with no one holding you back. On the few assignments he was assigned to a team…not many of his comrades ever returned home. Oddly enough, many of their bodies were never found. The ones that did make it back talked of how unmerciful he was to not only his enemies, but his companions as well. He never came to any of their aid in battle. He never waited for them whenever one was injured. To him, such acts of kindness would only cause a hindrance to the success of a mission. In a normal case, I would say that he thought the mission came first, but that is inaccurate. To Orochimaru, the mission was the only thing that mattered. Nothing else did. Not even the lives of his comrades."

"Is that why he didn't become Hokage?"

"Partly," Sarutobi said with a nod. "But the true reason was because we found out exactly what he did outside of these missions. Sometime just before the Kyuubi attacked the village, there was a leak of information saying that Orochimaru was…conducting experiments. In those experiments, his test subjects were the bodies of dozens of shinobi and villagers alike, but the mostly comprised of the shinobi who had died on missions with him. Later studies suggested that he appeared to have been trying to develop an immortality jutsu." All through his story, the look of pain on the Hokage's face grew more and more strained. He no longer looked at Naruto, but at the floor. Finally, even his eyes were closed. "He escaped from the village and became a missing nin of Konoha. He hasn't been seen for the last thirteen years…until now."

Naruto was silent for a moment, looking at the old man in front of him. Who was this Orochimaru guy? Or perhaps a better question: who did he think he was? Immortality? Using experiments on other shinobi…from his own village even! Once again, Naruto had to force down his rage, gripping his fists. How could anyone do that? To betray one's own village…he couldn't even imagine. Konohakagure was his home. How could he do that?

"…Why is he back? And why did he put this seal on me?" he asked, jabbing his thumb to the back of his neck.

"To answer the first of those two questions, we only have theories," the Hokage said. "Luckily for us though, one of the proctors of the exam was able to detect Orochimaru's presence during the second part of the exam. Unfortunately though, she was much too late to locate you or any of your friends before Orochimaru had. She confronted Orochimaru, most foolishly I must add, and was able to survive through the encounter. Orochimaru must have been in a excellent mood since he nearly answered every question that she asked. According to her, he said that he didn't have 'enough men' yet to attack the village, so that doesn't seem to be the case."

"But didn't you say that you had some theories why he came back?"

"Well…" Sarutobi sighed and finally fished into his robe. After a moment, he took out a match box and his pipe. After lighting it, he stuck the pipe in his mouth and took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "I do have one prediction," he finally said. "Ever since he was a child, Orochimaru has always been interested in bloodline limits as he didn't possess any of his own. I recall that he was particularly fond of one specific doujutsu…the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan."

"You mean that bastard was after Sasuke?!" Naruto shouted, jumping to his feet. His rage had peaked. His heart was beating faster than any time during his match that had ended only about ten minutes ago. In his gripped fist, he began to feel something wet begin to drip down his hand. "He thought he could convince Sasuke to join him?"

"Naruto, you should already know, your own sensei is not of the Uchiha clan but he possess the Sharingan. We can presume that perhaps he wanted to do the same with Sasuke's own eyes," the Hokage said solemnly. Against Naruto's own belief, his rage rose even higher. But that would have meant that snake bastard would have probably killed him. Naruto could hardly believe how much rage he felt now. The anger he felt whenever Neji activated his seal now only seemed like a mild annoyance compared to how he felt now. He needed to hit something. Destroy something…or someone. And he had the perfect person in mind.

"Naruto, please, you must calm down," the Hokage said calmly. Beside him, Hizashi exchanged worried glances between the Sanidaime and Naruto. Time passed slowly as the two of them exchanged stares. Finally, Naruto's heart began to slow once again. He fell back to the floor, taken aback at how drained he felt.

"Yes, Naruto," Sarutobi finally said with the same calm tone as before. "We suspect that he may have come to the Chunin exam for Sasuke. Perhaps his whole purpose of him being here was to brand him with the seal that you both as well as Shino share. My guess that the two of you garnered enough attention along side Sasuke that he took an interest to both of you as well. We have reasons to believe that it is some kind of 'gift' that he gives to shinobi who he believes has the potential to become great. It's a way of seduction to him, to gain more followers. It grants the wearer an unknown amount of power when activated. But the power is a double edged sword, if you will. Though you will gain much more power than you originally possess, you will also lose yourself to the seal, and in turn to Orochimaru. You will be under his complete control. It acts spontaneously, or at the very least, when a certain amount of chakra is used by the wielder. It also responds to emotions as well. You may have not noticed, but when you jumped to your feet just a moment ago, the seal had activated. Black marks had begun to spread throughout your entire body."

"What?" Naruto asked, shocked by the sudden news. He hadn't even noticed anything happening. He thought he had just stood up…had he really lost control that easily? He had no idea…it had come so unexpectedly. If the Old Man hadn't stayed calm through their conversation, what would he have done? Would he have gone out of control again like he had when fighting that Genin in the Forest of Death? It wouldn't be the first time either that someone had told him that he had much too short of a temper for his own good. Was this going to happen every time he got slightly angry? Would he be able to keep his anger in enough check every waking second? Suddenly, Naruto felt an emotion quite different from the anger he had just had…it was fear. He didn't know how he could trust himself anymore. What if he got angry at Sasuke or Shikamaru or even Kakashi-sensei? Would he suddenly lash out at them in a rage?

"Don't worry yourself, Naruto," Sarutobi said reassuringly, rising up to his feet. "We're here for the exact purpose that you won't have to worry about stuff like that anymore." Naruto waited quietly as the elderly man slowly walked behind him, inhaling one last drag from his pipe and then setting it off to the side beside his overly large hat. "Now listen, Naruto," Sarutobi said seriously. "I cannot guarantee you that this will be a comfortable experience. In fact, it's going to be just the opposite. But I can assure you that it will be over in only a moment. Are you ready?"

Sarutobi was caught off guard when instead of receiving an answer, he received a chuckle. He looked bewilderedly down at Naruto, which only caused the boy's smile to widen even more. "Sorry, Old Man," he said, closing his eyes. "I just thought it was kind of funny. The seal keeping in that bastard fox, my cursed seal, the Hyuuga's seal…and now this one? I'm starting to feel like I'm some kind of tattoo fanatic."

The pained expression returned once again to Sarutobi, placing a reassuring hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Naruto. So much is constantly put on your shoulders and no matter situation, you always take them on with a smile. It takes a strong will to not give into their suffering…you should be proud."

"Nah," Naruto said back shrugging, looking forward again. "I just have some good friends keeping me out of trouble."

Though he knew that Naruto couldn't see him, Sarutobi nodded down at Naruto approvingly, giving the blonde one last squeeze on the shoulder before removing his hand and beginning to go through the seals. Naruto waited patiently for him to complete the hand signs, staring forward in the dark room. After a moment of waiting, his eyes drifted back to Hizashi, and both of his eyebrows rose in surprise. He had mostly avoided eye contact throughout the Sanidaime and his conversation, so it was the first time that he took the moment to look at him closely. Whatever he had been expecting…it had not been this from the esteemed leader of the Hyuuga clan. It almost looked like…regret?

Naruto was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a hand drop down on his shoulder. A moment later, he cried out in agony as the jutsu took effect. Unable to stay cross legged, fell to his side, gripping his body. It almost reminded him of the pain from the activation of his Caged Bird Seal…but the difference was that instead of the pain originating and residing mostly in his head, this echoed throughout his entire body. Rolling onto his stomach, he cried out as his body began to spasm. It took all the strength he could muster to even open his eyes. Right away, his attention focused on his right hand. It was gripped strangely, not completely closed but not open either. He watched it turn clawed and back to normal again, switching back and forth at varying intervals. At one time, small lines stretched down his arm, the marks stretching down a bright orange color and then retracting back while jet black. With one last cry in pain, he took a breath as he was finally relieved from the jutsu. Gathering as much strength as he could, he lifted his hand up to his neck and felt where the mark was.

"Don't worry, Naruto, the seal is set," Sarutobi said soothingly, though his voice sounded so far off. He began to close his eyes, but reopened them slightly when he heard someone kneel beside him. He glanced up and saw the Hokage right next to him, looking serious once more. "Naruto, you must listen to me for just couple more moments," he instructed carefully. "You need to know that this seal will keep the one that Orochimaru put on you in check. But this specific seal relies on your own willpower. If you ever doubt yourself…if you ever question the power's purpose, that it could be used as a gift, the seal will fail and take over. Your own spirit is the only thing keeping Orochimaru from corrupting you."

Naruto was able to nod weakly back before his eyes finally closed as he lost consciousness. Sarutobi once again stood to his feet, but he did not take his gaze off of Naruto. He found it surprising that he did not have the least bit of worry about Naruto keeping the seal in check. After all, there were few who could even hope to contend with Naruto's fierce will of determination and spirit.

Looking back up, he found Hizashi also staring down at Naruto, his blank eyes slightly closed, obviously deep in thought. "I wouldn't have disapproved if you took part during his questions," the Hokage stated.

"…The conversation was between you and him alone," Hizashi replied back. "I did not wish to interfere."

The Sanidaime only stared back at Hizashi for a few moments before bringing them back down to Naruto. "I never imagined the sealing would have such a violent reaction to him. The sealing in general is not supposed to be a pleasant experience, but I had not seen anyone react so strongly to it before."

"Do you have a suspicion why?"

"…Slightly," the Hokage said back slowly. "Could the Kyuubi have a part in it? His body did go through some transformations that may suggest that…but I'm not exactly sure. I will have to take some time to investigate further. Until then, I'm once again leaving him in your care."

"I promise not to disappoint you, Hokage-sama," Hizashi said respectfully, picking up the unconscious Naruto and carrying him in his arms. "I'll get him to the hospital quickly and make sure that he gets proper care and guard."

"Good," Sarutobi said back, as Hizashi walked by him toward the door. "But Hizashi…" The Hyuuga leader stopped, turning around once more to face his elder. With his most grave expression yet, he stared darkly at Hizashi, but not in suspicion of his motives. By his expression, Hizashi gathered that this information that he was about to hear was of top priority in Sarutobi's book. "Hizashi, you must already be aware that you and your clan are under constant watch by villagers and shinobi alike. Your actions of late have been, to say the very least, controversial. Now, because of Naruto's most recent condition, this will only become more so than ever before. I will do all I can to try and keep the cursed seal confidential, but rumors spread fast. You'll be under more watch than ever before now. This is the only friendly warning that you will get from me or anyone else…be careful where you tread Hizashi. One false step made by either you or Naruto could send the entire village, as well as yourselves, in chaos."

Time passed slowly as Hizashi stood motionlessly and mutely with his back to the man behind him. "…I understand completely," Hizashi finally responded, seeming to grip Naruto's body in his hand just a tad more. "Hokage-sama, the day after Naruto was inducted into my clan, I told you that I only had the boy's best interests at heart…that this was not for my own personal interest. In all honesty, I did not speak the whole truth to you on that day." The Hokage waited silently, waiting for the clan leader of the Hyuuga clan to continue. "In truth, there was a part of me that felt remorse that I had not done anything for the boy sooner. I had deluded myself for near thirteen years that this boy was not my problem…that lie came crashing down around me the day that Naruto walked into the Hyuuga estate behind Hinata. I thought that if I could just do this one thing for him…not only for him, but for the Yondaime…I may someday be able to make up for all my past mistakes, and maybe even be able to visit my old friend's grave once again someday…"

Sarutobi had become silent after Hizashi's monologue. He never would have dreamed that he would see the seemingly unemotional leader of the Hyuugas open up like this. He supposed that even the most stoic of people could only keep feelings bottled up their feelings for too long. And there was something else. For a moment, Sarutobi could have sworn that he saw Hizashi's shoulders drop slightly, almost as if a tremendous weight that he had been carrying around for so long had suddenly been taken off of him.

"…I will be sure to take what you say to heart, Hokage-sama," Hizashi finally spoke again, and then turned his back to walk out the door, leaving the Sanidaime alone in the room to ponder what he had just heard even further.

* * *

"Akimichi Choji has surrendered the battle. As a result, Tenten will move on to the finals," Hayate said, pointing his hand in the kunoichi's direction where she smiled proudly in victory. On the opposite side of her, a very shaken Choji was sprawled back on the ground with his back against the wall. Surrounding him on all sides was every weapon imaginable, from kunai to katanas to scythes to explosive tags. One particularly large club had been lodged near dangerous territory right between his legs. He nearly jumped out of his pants when he finally noticed Tenten had approached him and offered her hand to help him up. Hesitantly, he accepted it and attempted to rise to his feet, but ultimately failed as he plopped back to the ground. He held his arm painfully at his side and also stared at his left leg, as if looking at it hard enough will make it move.

"Well, Kiba," Kurenai said, putting a hand on top of her student's hooded head, "it seems that you'll be the only one from our squad that will be representing us in the finals. I'm sure that you'll make us all proud and do a fantastic job."

"Thanks, sensei," Kiba said appreciatively. He looked past her for a second and over to Sakura, but she was still intent to not look anywhere near his direction. With a disappointed sigh, he leaned back over the railing and watched Choji get examined by medic nins on the other side of the room for the injuries that he had received in the battle. Choji hadn't actually performed badly in his match. Hell, it was the best Kiba had ever seen him fight before. Kiba had almost been sure that he had won the match when he had performed a pinball like Nikudan Sensha attack on Tenten and caught her off guard. Unfortunately though, a quickly summoned bow staff propelled her over Choji and set her up for her win.

Wordlessly, Nara Shikamaru left his spot beside Kiba and began to slowly walk toward the stairs. Kiba only then remembered that he and Choji had been great friends when they were all at the academy. It made since that he would want to check up on him. Though hesitating for a brief second, Kiba followed Shikamaru down to the first level.

Looking back, it was only at that moment that Kiba noticed just how much their group on the balcony had slimmed. The same seemed to be true for the other side as well. Many of the matches ended with the victor needing to leave for medical attention as well as the loser. Others who hadn't moved on, such as Hinata, Ino, and the two older Genin where their match ended in a draw, had to leave also. The only two on their side really that were still around after winning their match was Shikamaru himself, and Tenten once she got back to their level. But there were only two matches left, so perhaps they didn't have to worry too much about anymore injuries. There was one of the older Konoha guys on the other balcony left, and then there was Shino, the kunoichi Oto nin…and that one last Suna Genin. Maybe everything will get done quick and smoothly without anyone getting seriously injured.

While walking down the stairs, Kiba watched Tenten wall ran back up to the balcony, seeming to have forgotten the stairs and landed beside her weird looking sensei. He was kind of distressed for a second when he saw that the later of the two had been reduced to tears, ranting about how far she had come since she had first joined his squad. From this far away there were times where his speech became so fast and blubbery that the only thing that Kiba could recognize was the words "youth" and "proud".

By the time he and Shikamaru got to Choji most of the medic nins had returned to their places around the room, but one still remained, tending to his arm.

"How's it look?" Shikamaru asked before Kiba could.

"He'll be just fine," the medic nin said reassuringly. "I don't think he even needs to go to the infirmary either. It might take a little while for me to heal him up though. He's got a good tolerance of pain. But when he was hit by that bow staff mid match, his right arm was fractured in two places." At this information it seemed as though Choji was hovering between the point of panic and pride. Akamaru suddenly jumped out of his resting place inside Kiba's sweater and walked up to Choji, placing a sympathetic paw on Choji's uninjured arm.

"This guy will be fine as long as he doesn't get hungry," Shikamaru said with a chuckle. Choji seemed to be avoiding eye contact with him, instead staring down at the floor. "Hey, don't you worry about a thing," Shikamaru said with a warm smile, and slapping his old friend on the back. "There was not much you could do about her, you got unlucky. You saw her two teammates go at each other. She's been training with _them _for about two years, not to mention that she's our senior. I think you actually did pretty well."

"Yeah, no joke," Kiba joined in, trying to cheer his teammate up. "I thought you had her a couple times. With how good you are now, you'll make Chunin no problem next year."

"You two are just saying that to make me feel better," Choji mumbled, his shoulders sagging even further. "You guys got into the finals no problem…"

No problem? The red mark that was still on his neck was proof enough that he had some trouble in his match. Kiba was about to say something but stopped when Shikamaru put up his hand to shush him. "Well, that's too bad," the other Genin said with a shrug. "I was going to treat you to barbeque after all of this was done, but I suppose it'd be too troublesome to bring a gloomy person like you along…"

"Barbeque!" Choji yelled, his face suddenly lighting up. "Why didn't you say so in the first place?! Hey, doc! Hurry up and heal me up, there's a barbeque steak with my name on it!" He winced in pain shortly after yelling this though, seeming to regret such an impulsive outburst. The medic nin only smiled back kindly as she continued to heal him.

Kiba sighed to himself and shook his head, not believing that he hadn't thought of the idea first. Looking over to Shikamaru, he gave him a thankful thumbs up gratitude, which he responded back with a lazy shrug back.

"Excuse me." The three Genins and medic nin looked up simultaneously at the proctor that had approached them. "We need to get on to the next match," he explained in his sick and raspy voice. "We can't continue while you're on this level. Could you heal him on one of the balconies instead?"

"Oh, of course," the medic nin said kindly, rising to her feet and looking at Shikamaru. "You're this boy's friend, correct? Would you mind giving me a hand taking him back up to the second level?"

"Sure, no problem," the Genin replied back, kneeling beside Choji and putting his uninjured arm around his shoulder. He was about to begin following Kiba back to their side of the room, but then he noticed that the medic nin was no longer following him. Instead, she had already begun to start her way up to the level from the side they were on.

"Um…could we maybe go to the other side?" Shikamaru asked. "I think his sensei and other teammate might want to check up on him."

"Oh, they've got nothing to worry about," the woman said back, waving carelessly in Shikamaru's direction. "We're already on this side of the room anyways and we might as well just get up to the balcony as soon as we can. Besides, this will give you a good chance to get to know some other Genin from other villages. After all, the Chunin exam was first established to strengthen the bond of ally shinobi nations," she recited intelligently.

_Our leaders want us to become closer to other villages by beating the snot out of each other? _Shikamaru couldn't help but wonder, glancing back up warily at the balcony. He could already spot farther down the third and now lone Oto Genin, glaring down at his direction. No doubt she probably still held a grudge toward him for not only what had happened in the Forest of Death but also for beating her teammate. Not to mention the Suna Genin that Naruto and Sasuke nearly got into a rumble with just before the exams had begun. With a sigh, he realized that there was probably little chance that he could convince the woman, and even if he did it would take too long and would further annoy the proctor. Looking back to Kiba, he gave the other Genin a wave, signaling for him to go on without him. For a moment, the dog nin glanced back and forth from one balcony and to the other. Finally, he took a breath and walked past Shikamaru and began his way up the balcony they were at. After a moment of watching him walk up the stairs, Shikamaru slowly followed.

When he got to the top of the balcony, Shikamaru carefully set Choji down on the floor against the wall for the medic nin to continue her work. After doing so, he took the empty space on Kiba's left on the railing. Glancing out of the corner of his eye the Nara could already tell that the two of them had become the center of attention, though Choji on the other hand was blessedly overlooked. The Oto kunoichi's glower had only become even more intense since they had arrived to the top, and the last thing that Shikamaru wanted was to get into yet another fight. From his spot against the wall, the Genin from Suna who had defeated Hinata in his battle occasionally looked up at both him and Kiba, eyeing them warily. He didn't seem to have any hostile motives, but he seemed to make sure that he didn't take his eyes off of them for very long. Perhaps the last one who seemed to be trying her best to pretend she didn't notice them was the Suna kunoichi who had beaten Sakura. She was on Shikamaru's left side of the railing, a little less than ten feet away. Though Shikamaru never could catch her looking directly at them, something made him feel as if her entire attention was on them.

Peculiarly enough, the last male Genin from Suna seemed completely oblivious to their arrival. Not once did the red headed boy (who appeared to be closer to Shikamaru and Kiba's age compared to the other two) look over in their directions. It was almost as if the two of them were nothing more than unimportant objects that happened to be in the room. Not that Shikamaru was complaining or anything. The less trouble he had to deal with the better. He had just about enough of fighting for his life for that week with the combination of the events in the Forest of Death and his match with Dosu.

The now familiar sound of the computer choosing its new combatants filled the room as it began to file through the four competitors that remained for the last time. A moment later, Shikamaru turned his head up toward the names that had appeared up on the screen in large, gold letters. "**Subaku no Gaara vs. Akado Yoroi**". That meant Shino would be facing the last Oto Genin. A small part of him began to worry about Shino. When they had parted in the forest of death after battling Orochimaru, the seal he had been branded with had nearly killed him, and as a result he had lost most if not all of the insects that he practically relied on in battle. Now that he thought about it, with the troubles that Naruto was having on their team with his own cursed seal, it was amazing that Shino, Sasuke, and Ino were actually able to make it to the preliminaries when two of their members were not at full strength. He supposed that they weren't recognized as the "elite" Genin squad for nothing.

Only a couple yards away from Shikamaru, the squad from Suna were thinking less about the match that was about to come and more about their own personal safety. Temari hesitantly looked back over at Gaara to check once again what his status was. She let out a relieved sigh when she saw that her brother seemed more disappointed of the match's setup than anything else. That was a reassuring, especially compared to what his condition had been just two matches ago had been.

At the beginning of the exams, Gaara's general interest in the matches taking place on the level just below him was near zero. It was only until the third match that he had seemed to show any interest at all. That had been during Uchiha's fight. By the time the match was done, Gaara seemed generally interested in Uchiha, which Temari couldn't say was a good thing for the kid. More often than not whenever Gaara took an interest in someone, they weren't long for the world. Temari did not consider it her problem though. The last thing she ever wanted was to get in the way of Gaara and his prey. Those people usually lasted an even shorter amount of time in Gaara's affairs.

From that point on, her brother once again seemed to lose all interest in the matches. Even the seemingly epic match between the Hyuuga and his teammate which had stunned even Temari had no effect on him whatsoever. But then came Uzumaki Hyuuga Naruto's turn. At the start, his match didn't seem anymore special than the others. Gaara showed some brief interest at the beginning, most likely because of his encounter with the blonde before the exam, but he once again seemed to lose interest as time went on.

But then that all changed about halfway through the match. It was when Uzumaki was trapped in the arms of his opponent in his strange jutsu. Temari had felt it before she saw it. Or rather she sensed it. It was as if a pulse of energy had blown right through her, freezing her blood to ice. She had looked over to Kankuro and Ibiki-sensei to see if they had felt the same thing, which she was able to gather by their expressions that they had. When she looked back to the other Genin on their balcony, they had seemed completely unaware. Perhaps it had been because the feeling that she had sensed felt so familiar.

It was then that she had felt the shockwave that had actually originated from Uzumaki's chakra. The same feeling as before filled her again, and she looked down as quickly as she could. She could hardly believe what she saw as she watched the red chakra slowly bubble out of the kid. To see chakra in the first place required a tremendous amount to be exuded all at once, a feat that even some Jonin in her village lacked. But there was no end to the chakra that poured out of this _child's _body. It was as if he was a fountain of chakra, it hardly seemed possible. She was also caught off guard when nearly all the shinobi from Konoha above the rank of Chunin suddenly gathered around their Hokage in alarm. It was obvious that they knew something that she and the rest of her squad didn't.

It was only after this moment that she had turned her attention over to Gaara. She had never seen Gaara in such a state before. He still had his arms crossed, but he gripped them so tightly that she noticed his knuckles becoming white. Not just that, but she could have sworn she had heard a swishing sound coming from inside his gourd. It was as if its contents were trying to escape, like it truly did have a mind of its own. But what made Temari afraid the most was Gaara's expression. His eyes had gone wider than she had ever seen in her life. It was like the look of an animal that had found its prey after hunting for it for several weeks. Even that seemed to be an understatement. He had stared unblinkingly down at Naruto, not taking his eyes off of him for a single moment until he was out of the room, and even then he did not take his eyes off of the doorway for several minutes after he was gone. She had literally felt the bloodlust coming from him…

After this last match and Uzumaki's departure from the room, he seemed to have calmed down. But one could never be quite sure when it came to Gaara. Temari had decided to still keep her distance. Now that his match has started, maybe he'll be able to work off some of the excess energy he still had after watching Uzumaki fight.

She silently watched silently as Gaara walk past her and toward the stairway, following her opponent down the stairs. When her gaze fell on Shikamaru though, her eyes momentarily locked with his and she quickly looked away. She immediately regretted doing such. What did she have to fear from this kid? By the looks of him he was probably two years her junior, maybe even more. Maybe the reason why she had looked away so quickly was how he had looked at her. It was as if he was analyzing her reaction as Gaara passed by her, as if he was gathering information for an important mission. Maybe it was because Temari was even the slightest bit intimidated by him. During his match, she had been sure after only a few minutes that he would not walk away the victor, and she was rarely ever wrong. Yet even she couldn't scoff at the brilliant strategy that he had devised with after such a short amount of time. In her experience, she understood that a smart shinobi was far more dangerous than a powerful one. The kid from Otokagure had underestimated him and now he was in the infirmary. She would be sure to not make the same mistake.

"Okay," Hayate said when the two combatants had finally made their way to the bottom level. "The ninth match will be betweenSubaku no Gaara against Akado Yoroi. Are there any objections?" A few moments passed as the two shinobi stood facing the other, not answering. Hayate took this as a no. "Well then, when the two of you are ready, you may begin."

"But of course," Akado said, crouching down to prepare his attack. "You must forgive me, Gaara-san. Despite the alliance between our two villages, I'm afraid that I can't allow you to proceed to the finals. You see, there is one there that I wish to fight. You should give up now while you can. There's no way that you can defeat me."

"…You talk too much," was the red-head Genin's only aggravated remark.

His opponent snarled back from beneath his mask, as his hands began to emit a peculiar light blue aura. "In that case, I'll let my actions speak for me!" Akado then dashed forward at his adversary, his arm stretched out in front of him. Gaara hardly even reacted to the oncoming attack at all. He remained motionless with his arms crossed, regarding Akado as though he was nothing more than an irksome fly that had decided to buzz around him for a few moments. Just before Akado's hand reached Gaara, the cork that sealed the gourd on his back shot out across the room and sand came pouring out. Akado's hand then collided into the wall of sand that felt as hard as steel, blocking him from his target. With a frustrated grunt, he darted to the side and attempted another strike, which the sand once again blocked. Growing irritated, he attacked from Gaara's back this time, but even then with his opponent not even looking at him, his attacks came up empty.

"So he uses sand, eh?" Kiba asked with one arm on the railing. "That's something that I haven't heard of. Is that kind of thing common in Suna or something?"

The snicker had escaped from Temari before she could stop it. She realized her mistake when the two Konoha Genin turned her way, as if waiting for her to continue. Temari only regarded them casually out of the corner of her eye before turning back to the match below, where Akado continued his futile attacks on Gaara. "…This kind of jutsu is unique to Gaara and him alone," she finally spoke for whatever reason. "Though he, for the most part, has complete control of the sand's actions, it also reacts instinctively to defend Gaara whenever he is threatened. Gaara doesn't even need to move or react to defend himself."

"Well that seems weird," Choji said, finally rising to his feet from behind them and took up the spot between Shikamaru and Kiba. The two glanced at him in concern, but Choji just waved at them dismissively in reassurance. Kiba slapped him in a friendly fashion while Shikamaru nodded back before returning his attention to the bottom level.

Now that he thought about it, "weird" was perhaps the only way that Shikamaru could describe the Gaara's technique. That and convenient. Not even needing to move to win a fight. He thought back to the day before the exam when he and his team along with Sasuke and Ino had first met this squad from Suna. He remembered when the second boy, who he remembered to be named Kankuro, had drawn out a kunai to attack them but stopped when some sand seemed to stop him from moving his arm. What he especially remembered though was the look of terror that had befallen him after he noticed it. Judging by his match with Hinata, he was no pushover by any means. Though the sand seemed not very threatening at the moment, someone like him would not be frightened so easily without proper reason. A sinking feeling appeared in Shikamaru's stomach, causing him to feel uneasy.

On the bottom floor, Akado leapt back to put space between himself and Gaara. His opponent on the other hand stood by motionlessly, staring back at him indifferently. That sand was just too fast for him to get around at his regular speed, he admitted begrudgingly. If that was the case though, he would just have to step it up a notch. Forming the necessary hand seal, he began concentrating his chakra to his feet. His special chakra stealing jutsu was not the only trick that he had up his sleeve. When he had finally collected enough chakra, he smiled underneath his mask and began to run at his opponent again. He jabbed his arm forward once again, and as soon as he saw the sand rise up to block his attack, he activated his jutsu and flickered out of sight. He reappeared directly behind his opponent, clearly surprising him. It seemed that the sand was fast, but it was no match for the Shunshin no Jutsu.

"This match is over!" he shouted in triumph, his arm reaching for his opponents head. He nearly stopped breathing though when his hand stopped. It took a moment for his mind to fully process that the sand was now gripping his wrist, his open hand only centimeters away from Gaara. He actually did stop breathing though when the grip around his wrist suddenly tightened and the younger Genin turned to look at him. He had never seen such eyes before…it was as if they were that of a beast's.

He was suddenly brought to his senses as more sand than ever began to pour out of his gourd and toward him, grabbing his other wrist and his ankles. Slowly, he began to rise up into the air until he was hovering higher than those up in the balcony.

"I don't like this," Kiba grunted from beside Shikamaru, taking a step back. Choji nodded in agreement, a bead of sweat trailing down the side of his face. Inside Kiba's jacket, Akamaru let out one last whimper before retreating inside his jacket, his body clearly shivering against his master's body.

"Wha-what are you doing?!" Akado shouted, clearly frightened, looking around him. He was not a fan of heights by any means, and the fact that he was held up by only his wrists and ankles did not soothe his worries. "Let me down this instant!"

Gaara studied him from below where he stood, not seeming to care in the slightest what his opponent was saying. All at once the sand that had been surrounding him suddenly piled together until it had taken the shape of a spear that was nearly as large as Akado himself, though hardly any wider than the railings that were on the balconies. Akado's eyes grew large behind his sunglasses when he saw this new weapon and desperately began trying to free his hands. No matter how he struggled though, the sand around him only gripped him tighter. He could already feel blood trickling down his wrist from the pressure that they were being held at.

"P-please!" Akado shouted, all of his self dignity utterly forgotten. "Please stop! I surr-" The end of his sentence was cut short as some of the sand that was around his wrist came up to his mouth, covering it so that nothing else he said made sense whatsoever.

"Finally we get to shut that irksome mouth of yours," Gaara said dully as the spear beside him began to tilt up toward Akado.

Shikamaru's heart was pounding within his chest. He could hardly bring himself to watch this. The guy had no chance, and this _kid _seemed to be enjoying his misery.

"This ends now," Gaara said, a psychotic smile spreading on his face. The spear beside him suddenly shot out at Akado and impaled him right in the center of his chest. From across the room, Kiba spotted Sakura covering her mouth in horror at the scene, not seeming to be able to take her eyes off of the man. His mouth still quivered agape, his full attention focused on the lance that had become lodged into his chest. Suddenly, the sand dispersed and this time wrapped around Akado's entire body so that his body looked like nothing more than a mass of floating sand. "Sabaku Sousou!" Gaara shouted. The sand suddenly seemed to compress up in the air and an agonizing cry filled the room. Then, there was complete silence.

Slowly, the sand lowered back to the floor. When it was finally arrived, it began pooling back into Gaara's gourd. What it left behind Shikamaru could not even bare to look at. Akado's body had been completely crushed by the sand. His arms and legs were twisted and bent in unusual ways and his entire body looked misshapen. It was as if he had been run over by a herd of stampeding oxen. Thankfully, his clothing mostly covered up the area where he had been skewered, but his purple attire was now soaked with blood.

Hayate could hardly even bring himself to cough as he looked between the corpse and Gaara. When he had seen the spear being made, he had not stopped the match since he had not actually believed that the kid would do such a thing. By the time he had realized his miscalculation, it was already too late. Looking back, he doubted that there would have been anything that he could have done to stop this kid. The look in his eyes had been savage and ruthless. But now, they seemed the complete opposite, he appeared almost calm. As if his mind had wandered off onto some other subject.

He couldn't really punish the kid for doing what he did. The matches were essentially battles to the death. It just so happened that this kid took this prospect perhaps a little too seriously. There was one thing for sure, he sure was glad that he wasn't the Genin who would face him in the finals.

"The winner," he finally said, outstretching his hand toward the victor, "is Sabaku no Gaara."

Gaara wordlessly turned his back to his fallen opponent and began his way back up the stairs. Immediately, Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba's eyes met each others. The very prospect of this guy even walking by them now put all three of them on edge. The way that he had killed this guy so unmercifully…it could hardly even be called human. Each of them kept their eyes forward and down to the main level, keeping sure to not look at the corpse that had been left behind, which was now being covered up and collected by several medic nins. Shikamaru listened carefully to the patting footsteps climbing the stairs and eventually toward him, waiting for them to pass by. His heart froze though when he heard the steps stop, directly behind him. From the corner of his eye, Shikamaru could see Kiba tightening his grip on the railing in front of him and he heard Choji gulp loudly.

As time crept past, it became apparent that the Genin behind them was waiting. Taking a deep breath, Shikamaru shakily turned his body to look at Gaara, which Choji and Kiba followed suit. Instead of Gaara looking at all three of them at the same time, his entire attention had become focused on Shikamaru, staring at him with his cold, hardened eyes. Shikamaru's throat had become so dry that he couldn't even bring himself to swallow like Choji had before. He tried to suppress his shaking, though he could not seem to steady his hands no matter how he tried.

"…You are teammates with Uzumaki Hyuuga Naruto, correct?" Gaara finally asked, still gazing at Shikamaru.

The question took Shikamaru off guard, not able to find the words at first. "Yes…" he finally said, nodding back slowly.

"Please deliver this message to him for me," the other Genin responded back. "Tell him that I will see him in the finals, and that he better not lose before then." With that said Gaara turned his back to the three Konoha Genin and walked away, positioning himself in the exact same spot as he had been before against the wall.

Shikamaru had to grab the railing to prevent his legs from giving out on him. This week just kept getting better and better. He had thought that he had been terrified back in the Forest of Death when they had fought Orochimaru. Now this kid comes along and makes him just as frightened, if not more. And what did he want with Naruto? After hesitating only a moment, Shikamaru turned his head and glanced over in Gaara's direction, but the Genin merely continued to stare blankly out in front of him, as if their conversation had never happened. Just who the hell was this kid?

"Alright, then," Hayate said, looking back up to the separate balconies after the body had been cleared from the room. "Now we can proceed to the final match. Will the last two combatants please come down to the main level?"

It took a while for Shino to fully comprehend that he was being addressed. It wasn't until Asuma patted him on the back for good luck that he was brought back completely to his senses. Looking back at his sensei, he nodded back in his usual calm demeanor before heading toward the stairs. One characteristic of his that Shino took great pride in was how he could keep his emotions hidden from others, a natural talent that's been passed down through the Aburame clan from generation to generation. Rarely did anyone know what he was thinking or felt; which has resulted in his "questionable" reputation at the academy. He had never done anything to deserve such a reputation. It was just an unfortunate side affect. His father assured him though that such a talent would someday save his life on the battlefield.

But though he could cover his emotions, Shino could not bring himself to completely cut himself off from them. At that moment, walking down the stairs to his battle, he could not help but feel the fear slowly begin to race through his body. It was a response to the pervious match and how it had concluded. He could hardly believe that Suna Genin had killed his opponent in such cold blood. Worst off, he had appeared to have actually enjoyed it. Shino was a shinobi, prepared to do what he must for the sake of his village and family, but that did not mean he did not cringe at the thought of taking another's life. And that Genin…that _kid _who appeared no older than him, had relished the bloodshed.

Shino was even further put on edge from the reaction of the proctor. Barely even a minute after the body had been removed from the room, he called him to begin the next match, moving on as if nothing had happened. How could one do such a thing? Did a human life mean so little to a shinobi?

Shino gripped his fist, immediately clearing his thoughts. Now was not the time to ponder such things. If he allowed his mind to be clouded, he would inevitably lose focus on the battle, and ultimately lead to his own defeat. Also, from what he heard from Ino, this was one of the Genin who had been sent to kill Sasuke. How could he be sure that he would be treated any differently? He had to stay focused on his match. There was no point of contemplating what has already occurred and could not be changed. The man was dead and that was the end of it. Besides, he had never laid eyes on the man before today anyways. What did it matter to him that he died…? But weren't those the very thoughts that had put him on edge with the proctor?

The sharp and familiar pain that Shino had come all too used to over the week suddenly returned, though he did not allow himself to flinch while his opponent was within sight of him. He could not show any weakness. Besides, the mark on his neck had not ceased aching since he had awoken prior to their fight with Orochimaru, which disturbed him. From what he gathered, Sasuke's seal activated spontaneously and without warning. His, on the other hand, constantly throbbed and aggravated him. The pain had kept him awake for days on end while in the forest. But it was when he fell asleep when things went bad. Every time he would be plagued with nightmares, usually involving him futilely battling Orochimaru. Other times it was of his teammates being slaughtered by some unknown enemy whose face would only be revealed when the last victim had been cut down…each time he had been the murderer.

When he woke up, he would find his arms becoming incased with the strange markings that resembled what Sasuke had described when he had undergone the transformation. More often than not the marks would disappear soon after he notices them, but that did not put his mind at ease…

When he finally reached the main level, he passed by Shikamaru, Choji, and Kiba as they were returning to their side of the balcony. Shikamaru gave Shino a small nod as he passed, probably in respect to when their respective teams had worked together in the Forest of Death. Shino returned the same nod back, walking out into the middle of the room where his opponent waited patiently for him.

"The final battle will be between Aburame Shino and Tsuchi Kin. Are there any objections?" The two replied back, "No," simultaneously, practically answering before he had finished his sentence. Hayate nodded as he stepped back to give the two room. "If that is the case, then you may begin."

As soon as the proctor had finished his sentence, Kin fished into her weapons pouch and produced three kunai, launching them at Shino. The Aburame though was able to quickly dodge to the side and avoid the weapons, though his opponent did not allow him any time to prepare an attack of his own. She quickly lunged forward went for a quick kick to the side, though Shino was able to block the attack with his forearm.

"You're scared, aren't you?" she asked suddenly, sneering at him.

Angrily, Shino pushed her leg away and lunged at her as well. She jumped around him though and sidestepped his strikes, easily avoiding his attacks. This was not good. He couldn't catch her. He was too exhausted from both lack of sleep and the arduous second exam. Not to mention that he wasn't what one would call the best at Taijutsu either. If he were to ever throw a punch, it would usually be a swift and powerful one to end the battle immediately. He usually left the hand to hand combat to Sasuke and Ino. Plus normally he could count on his insects to assist him and give him the edge he needed in battle, but now he had lost him trump card. Things weren't looking up for him.

"You can't hide your fear from me," Kin continued as she avoided each of Shino's strikes. She suddenly produced a kunai from behind her, slashing at Shino. He nimbly dodged the weapon though and was able to bring out his own kunai. The two clashed together, their weapons locking as the two fought for control. He was surprised at how powerful she actually was. Or was his fatigue having more of an effect on him than he had originally thought? "I know why you're scared too. That was the first time you had ever seen someone die, hasn't it? I can tell that you're the kind of guy who can usually keep his emotions in check," Kin continued, leaning in closer so that Shino could hear her clearly as their kuani remained locked together. "Your face is practically devoid of emotion. But…your eyes give you away. Though you can control your expression, you can't control your emotions, and your eyes tell me everything I need to know."

Shino was caught of guard as Kin suddenly leapt backwards, causing him to stumble forward, off balanced. It was pure luck this time around that he was actually able to dodge the kunai she threw at him, though he was not able to recover fast enough to dodge or block her next assault. The high kick sent him spiraling backwards before rolling to a stop.

A small laugh rose from her, but she stopped as Shino slowly picked himself up from the floor, facing her once again. "You're right," he said, rubbing his right shoulder. "I'll admit that I was…affected by the previous match. Although, I must say that I would feel more unease if I didn't react in such a manner. Yes I was frightened, and yes I still feel those same affects. But that does not mean that I will not do what I must to win this match. If I were to lose here, I would only be disappointing my teammates as well as myself. So, if you are finished, I would like to continue this match."

Shino only wished that he actually felt just as confident as he sounded. Quickly and quietly, he analyzed his situation. He didn't allow himself to reach into his weapons pouch to check on his equipment, he was already aware of what he had. He and his team usually split the responsibility of carrying certain weapons to the one most proficient with said weapon. Sasuke usually took care of most of the wire that they took along, possessing a special talent in traps and utilizing them in battle. Ino, for the most part, kept with her most of the shuriken and kunai, which she always made sure that he and Sasuke were in ample supply of at all times. He, on the other hand, hardly used any weapons at all, and as such he was put in charge of the least used, but at the same time most dangerous of all their tools. Smoke bombs and explosive tags. He understood the risk he was taking for relying so much on such dangerous weapons. They could work as much against him as it could work for him. But when he thought about it though, he concluded that he probably had little choice in the matter.

"You want us to finish up this match? Fine, then let's finish up," Kin said, reaching back once again into her weapon's pouch. At first glance, Shino thought for a moment that she had mistakenly drawn out nothing. When she brought back both of her hands though, he was able to detect a slight glint of light reflecting off of the senbon that were in each hand. While she moved her arm back though, his ears picked up the small chime of bells that were at the end of the senbon. He ducked out of the way as soon as the weapons were thrown, keeping an eye out for any extra senbon without bells. Sure enough, he caught sight of three of them heading his way and leapt out of the way.

This was by no means what he would call a brilliant strategy. The intention was obvious. Catch the opponent off guard by having him rely on the sound of the bells to judge where the senbon were. After doing so, throw senbon without bells that your opponent won't be paying attention to and catch him off guard. Shino had heard of such a strategy before back at the academy, but this was not what he would call a well carried out version of the plan. Besides, senbon were weapons meant for only the most skilled weapon specialists. Unlike a kunai, they cannot cause long lasting damage by just hitting anywhere on the body. As they were much smaller, senbon required to hit a specific area the size of a marble to do any lasting damage. Even if Shino did let a few senbon escape his notice, as long as he kept moving, he'd be able to avoid any serious injury.

Suddenly, Shino's legs gave out on him, and he fell to the ground, which resulted in three senbon sinking into his arm, coming dangerously close to one of his vitals. He quickly tried to rise to his feet, but only then realized that he couldn't move. Another chime of the bells on the wall behind him alerted him to the truth. Genjutsu! How could he have overlooked something so obvious?! The senbon without the bells were the true distraction so he didn't pay so much attention to the ones with bells attached to them. He should have known better…

"Having some problems?" Kin asked. Shino looked across to her, not surprised to see her doubling in front of him, an obvious effect of the Genjutsu. He numbly took out one of the senbon in his arms and threw it at the middle Kin. Unsurprisingly, the senbon flew straight through the image. "I take it that means that you're starting to hallucinate, she said laughing. All the images suddenly produced three senbon in their hands and threw them right at him. It was all Shino could do to just raise his arms to block the rain of needles. Luckily, only three sunk into his arm, though he could hardly call such a thing "lucky". He had to do something…she was only toying with him now. The moment she gets bored with him, he'd lose the match, or worse…

"I can't believe that _he _was so interested in you," she said next. Shino hadn't noticed just how close she had gotten. A violent kick to the face sent him spiraling backwards. For a moment, the pain snapped him out of the genjutsu, but another quick ring of the bell fixed that. Fortunately though, it did not have such a strong effect as before. Not just that, he realized as time passed from each ringing of the bells, the genjutsu would decrease in power. She needed to keep the bells chiming to keep him under the technique. All he needed was enough time to make a plan… Slowly, his hand inched closer and closer to it. As soon as his hand touched it though, he felt a foot pin him down from behind, putting him face down to the ground. Once again though, his genjutsu was temporarily broken, which gave him just enough time to grab what he needed and prepare…

"I can understand why he chose Uchiha and that Uzumaki kid, those two are actually impressive. You, on the other hand, you're nothing more than a weakling compared to the other two. You're nothing but a little bug…" she stated, raising her hand over her head for one final attack with her senbon.

A moment passed in silence as Kin waited for a reply. A very strange thing happened though as time crept by. At first, it almost sounded like Shino was sobbing, bringing a sneer to Kin's face. It didn't take long for her to realize though exactly what it was. He was chuckling.

"An excellent choice of words," Shino said, glancing back up at her. "You see, I know more about bugs than anyone else in this room combined. Though you are correct that insects do not possess the natural brute force to contend with other organisms, I've come to learn that they find other such ways to level the playing field."

Summoning every ounce of energy he had, Shino shoved himself up from the floor just enough to knock Kin off of him. She stumbled back a few steps, trying to catch her balance. Angrily, she turned her gaze back down to him and drew back her senbon, but stopped when she saw what he had prepared. As quickly as she could, she rang the bells on the other side of the room with the wire in her hand, stopping Shino once again, the kunai inches away from a paper bomb that was on the ground.

"You've got to be insane," Kin said, her eyes darting from Shino to the kunai in his hand and then down to the paper bomb and then repeating the process and ringing the bells once again to keep the genjutsu in affect. "You would've blown us both to hell if you had done that."

This wasn't good. All Kin needed to do was take a better look at the explosive tag to see the small bulge underneath it to understand. He needed to activate it! Gritting his teeth, Shino put all the willpower that he had into his arm in an attempt to force it down on the tag. Noticing this new added effort, Kin activated her bells again and simultaniously threw three more senbon at Shino into his hand that held the kunai. Though pain rushed up his entire arm, he did not allow himself to let go of the weapon. Sasuke had overcome his opponent, and Naruto had been able to defeat his against all odds. He would not be the only one of the three to be defeated here! His breath quickened as his hand slowly began descending to the tag, not even paying attention to the ringing that was sounding behind him or the senbon that he was continually being impaled with.

_More…more…more!_ Shino thought, getting closer and closer to the tag. Then, something seemed to snap within him. With a dark smile, he brought down his kunai as hard as he could onto the fake tag, activating the small smoke bomb that he had hidden underneath it. Immediately, everything around him and Kin was shrouded in purple smoke. To his amusement, he realized that he had been completely released from the Genjutsu that he had been under. Perfect… Reaching back into the weapon's pouch, he drew out three more smoke bombs and threw them to the ground, enshrouding him and his opponent in even more smoke.

Following the sound of his opponent's cough, as soon as he caught sight of her through the purple haze he grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and threw her to the ground. Before she could react, he punched her in the nose, forcing her head to collide with the floor. Still, she tried to rise to her feet, but Shino only punched her once again.

"Do I seem so weak to you now?" Shino asked standing to his feet, feeling his smile widen even further. Bringing up his foot, he stomped it into Kin's stomach, forcing the air out of her. In a panic, she looked tried her best to regain the air that she had lost, but the smoke stopped her. The smoke used in smoke bombs was a special, heavy kind that did not rise, but fell. "Please…stop…" she gasped, weakly trying to lift the foot off her stomach and looking at Shino in terror.

"Sorry," Shino said, putting even more force down onto her and drawing out this time an actual explosive tag from his weapon's pouch, "you're going to have to speak up." He savored the look of fear on her face as he slowly brought the explosive tag so that it was inches from her face. It was then that Shino looked down to his own hand, finally noticing the black, circular markings that had enveloped his hand.

This brought him swiftly back to his senses. He stumbled back in shock, looking at the blood that had stained his hand from punching his opponent. What had happened to him? And when had the markings returned? He lifted up his sleeve and saw the same circular pattern had traveled up his arm as well. Looking at his other hand, he saw the same thing. He was swiftly brought down on his knees when the mark on his neck sent another rush of pain through his body. This was not good. He had to calm himself down. Control, he had to regain control!

Slowly, he forced his heart to regain its normal rate. With deep breaths, he watched the marks on both of his hands gradually snake their way back down his arm and up his sleeve. By the time the smoke had finally dissipated around him, the pain as well as the marks on his body was gone. Weakly looking up, he saw that Kin had slipped into unconsciousness while he was trying to control himself. He opened his right hand and saw that he still held the explosive tag in his hand…just what exactly had he planned to do with it, he wondered with a shudder.

He realized that he had been proclaimed the winner when he noticed Asuma beside him. He heard his sensei asking him worried questions that Shino could not comprehend. Before he could make any sort of reply, exhaustion overtook him and he slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

Sarutobi watched silently as the last of the three Genin that Orochimaru had branded left the room. This time though, he was being carried instead of lead out like the other two. The Hokage had been able to sneak into the room with a quick Kawarimi no Jutsu with his Kage Bushin midway through the previous match. Not that he felt now that he had actually needed it. He probably could have walked straight through the front door and no one would have noticed him during that fight.

But he could contemplate about that match later. Right now, there were other pressing matters to attend to. Turning his head, he studied Anko beside him, who was watching Shino very intently as he was carried out of the room by his sensei against the wishes of several medic nins. He found it difficult to place exactly how she felt about the situation. Part of him thought that she wasn't even thinking about the present, and instead had drifted off onto some other unknown subject.

"Well, Anko, what do you think?" the Sanidaime finally asked.

Anko didn't question what he meant, putting her hand on her chin in thought. "…I didn't like how that last match ended up. That Kin girl had hardly a scratch on her when that smoke came up and when it was gone it looked like she had a sledgehammer pound her face in. The kid was too cool and calculating in my opinion beforehand to actually pull it off. By his actions I'd say that he wanted to end the battle as quickly as possible. We don't know what happened to them in that smoke, but I have a feeling something…went wrong."

Understanding what she meant, Sarutobi nodded back. "Do you believe that the seal was activated intentionally?"

Anko took a couple more moments to contemplate her answer for this one. "…No. If he wanted to activate his seal at the beginning of the match, he would have done the smoke trick earlier and pulled it off better. I bet he accidentally tapped into it while trying to get to that smoke bomb he had under that dud tag. Still, he might be unstable. He'll need to be put under careful watch-"

"You understand that I can only go so far concerning that option," Sarutobi interrupted, making himself clear. Anko didn't respond back, obviously not liking the answer. In the end though, she only shrugged at the elder man. "What about the other two?" he asked next.

"I think we can worry the least about the Uchiha kid," Anko said rubbing her chin. "He had some trouble with the seal during the fight but it never activated. As long as we keep it in check with the counter seal, I think he should be fine. But Uzumaki…that's another story. He didn't give into his seal, true. But he did give into the power of…something else during his match." Sarutobi understood what she was saying. He had wanted Naruto to elaborate on the subject for him before, but eventually decided that it could wait. The boy has had a long week. "Even though he didn't use the seal, he still tapped into the other power when he was in danger. If he gets into another dangerous situation and that power doesn't end up being enough, there is a possibility that he could be tempted to use the seal. He might be the one that we have to keep an eye on the most…"

"I may have a solution to that problem."

Anko and Sarutobi both turned their heads toward the voice. Standing across from them was Kakashi, his hands casually tucked into his pocket. He let out a sigh while facing Anko's heated stare for jumping into their conversation, but he had no choice in the matter right now.

"What are you talking about, Hatake?" Anko asked, not very nicely if Kakashi might add.

"Oh, just a way to keep Naruto in check at all times that will benefit him in more ways than one. Mostly though, it's just a favor."

"Will you be able to elaborate with us, Kakashi?" Sarutobi asked, raising his eyebrows. Something told him though that he wasn't the primary person that was being addressed.

"Sure thing," the Copy Nin replied back with a chuckle. He had to admit though, this was probably either the greatest plan that he had ever developed in his life…or the worst.

* * *

_I've found out something in this chapter. Shino is difficult to write about for me. I'm definetely going to need more work with him (which I'll get plenty of time with next chapter *wink wink*). Anyways, I'm still pretty 'meh' about his match anyways. I wanted to fit the cursed seal in somehow... I have_ _to say though, thinking up a different fight every single chapter is incredibly difficult. I went into the Chunin Prelims excited and now I'm leaving glad that it's finally over. Funny how that works out._

_But here we are though, the time between the prelims and the finals. Honestly though, I'm pretty excited about it. I have A LOT planned in between here. Lot's of character development from many characters and I may even throw in an extra mission (working on that). I think that this will be partly easier and partly just as hard as the prelims. Oh well, at least I have time now to worry about the finals. _

_As for my lack of updates...let's just say that I've been a little more active as of late. Trying to find a job, playing various video games, and just hanging out with friends who I'm going to be leaving very soon are taking up a lot of time. Plus my otaku level has considerably raised this past five months (my God it's really been that long). I've been catching up with some new anime like Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (totally epic anime!!!), Death Note (nuff said), and even others like Berserk, Genshiken, and Black Lagoon. I've gotten plenty of inspiration from all of these too (goodie points to those who can catch the Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann reference this chapter)._

_Anyways, I apologize (again...) for the long wait and hope you enjoyed the chapter. Any feedback that you can provide is most apprciated. Favorite, review, yadayadaya. Again, if anyone is interested, I now have my own youtube account. You can find the link to it via my fanfiction account. Anyways, until the next chapter everyone. I hope to see you all soon._

_GAZ_

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